Dual
by Z-bond
Summary: Who would've thought that the fate of the galaxy would rest upon the shoulders of two young survivors from Mindoir. Pairings: John Shepard/Liara T'Soni, Jason Shepard/Miranda Lawson.
1. Prologue

**Author's notice: I finished Mass Effect 3 a long time ago and I was somewhat disappointed by the "three different colors yet same flavor endings." Bioware and EA just ignored the characters we've poured our souls into and wiped them out regardless. My paragon John Shepard deserved better than that. After all that business with Saren, Sovereign, The Shadow Broker, The Collectors, Harbinger and the rest of the Reaper armada, I figure the least Bioware could do was for Shepard to live the rest of his life in peace and have some super cute blue children with Liara.**

**I used the default face for John Shepard, just seemed iconic compared to other faces (just my opinion, there's need spreading it around), in addition to being a Colonist, War Hero, Soldier and Paragon**

**Jason Shepard is a Colonist, Biotic Alliance Assassin and Butcher of Torfan. He's neither Paragon nor Renegade.**

**Its so annoying that I can't get more information on Elysium or Torfan, its pretty difficult to write about. **

**Prologue: The Two Boys**

"John, Jason, wake up and get changed NOW!" A sixteen-year-old John Shepard groggily sat up from his bed, looked at his watch, it was early morning and rubbed his eyes but at the panicked tone in his father's voice shot out of bed and changed into the nearest clothes he could find.

"Dad, what's happening?" His fourteen-year-old brother, Jason asked from the bed next to his as he swiftly got out of bed and changed into a t-shirt and jeans.

"Batarians slavers are attacking the colony! It isn't safe here. Leave everything…" Benedict Shepard, a rugged man in his late thirties said as looked out of the window of their two-story house.

"Daddy, I'm scared." A small girl with long red hair and green eyes whimpered.

"It's alright Jenny, the Alliance got our distress signal…we're going to be fine. Your mother will be here soon." Ben replied reassuringly.

"Alright, lets move..." The two boys followed their father and sister as they walked down the stairs and left their home for the most of their lives. They could hear screams of terror, explosions and the sound of bullets riddling as the Shepard family ran for their lives.

Jason gritted his teeth seeing the murky orange flames slowly engulfed his house as he tried to drown out the sounds of terror around them, he'd heard rumors of what Batarians did to their prisoners and controlled his urge to vomit.

"Some more over there. " A voice yelled out and shots were fired at the family as they ran into the forest.

"Dad, why are the Batarians attacking us? We've done nothing to them." John asked as they ran.

"With Batarians, is there any reason why they do anything? There's no logic behind their decision-making. Despite living in such times, they still believe in enslavement, how barbaric." Ben replied. Rage against the Batarians filled John as they dodged the shots, his father was a university professor, not a soldier and his little sister; she was only ten years old, why were the Batarians doing this?

"I think we lost them." Jason said as silence replaced the firing of weapons.

"NO!" Jennifer Shepard cried as she tripped and her small music listening device, a small pink iPod, flew out of her hands and tumbled down a steep hill but it stopped at the foot of a tree.

"Leave it." Ben shouted and grabbed onto her daughter's hand before she could slide down.

"Hold on. I'll fetch it for you." John said and slid down the rocky hill.

"Wait up." Jason shouted after him as he too, slid down, ignoring his father's shouts.

"You got it?" His sibling asked.

"Yeah." John replied with a grin as he held the placed the device in his pocket. The two were about to tread back up when the sound of a giant explosion ringed in their ears, both of them shouted with panic as they were tossed violently down the hill. Rolling down the uneven hill, John felt something connect with his head and the pain that came was so intense that before his brain could comprehend what was happening he blacked out, the faint screams of people still continued to fill the air.

"_Baby, time to wake up…" A warm, female voice announced. _

_"Mom?" John opened his eyes, and saw his mother's piercing green eyes. The sounds of birds squawking and the sound of waves splashing against the shore could be heard as he lazily sat up._

_ "I know you've had a tough semester, why don't you join your brother and sister, they're building sandcastles you know." Hannah Shepard advised her son after a peck on his cheek. _

_"Okay…" John replied with a smile and ran out to two figures that were squatting on the sand not far from him. "Jason! Jen!" A skinny eight-year-old boy with thick, curly brown hair with blue eyes and a six-year-old girl with long red hair with green eyes stood up and waved back him. _

_"So, what'd you two have in mind?" John asked._

_ "A tall castle! I'm going to be a princess." His little sister said with a cute smile, then with a mischievous smirk added, "You two can be my shining knights in armor."_

_ John saw his brother giving him a raised eyebrow. The three of them just laughed and got to work as the Sun warmed their backs._

_ "Son?….Son?…Son?" John suddenly felt immense pain in his head as he fell to his knees and down to his side, something was wrong, his brother and sister were still molding sand as if they have not detected his pain. He watched as Jen said something and Jason laughed. The scenery before him suddenly warped and became more blurred. _

_"Son? Son can _you hear me?….Goddamn it, stay with me. You're going to be alright." A male voice John did not recognize said, the warmth of the beach and the smell of salt from the ocean were gone, replacing them were the charred smell of trees burning that seemed to suffocate him. Widening his eyes, John pushed the man away with unknown strength and eyes darting crazily like a madman surveyed the destruction around him like a wounded animal.

"Calm down son, I'm with the Alliance, we're not here to hurt you." The man wearing blue armor and a blue beret, signaling his higher rank said calmly as he keep his palms open in front of him. Recognizing the Alliance insignia on the man's blue armor, John nodded.

"Captain, we got another one here not far south from your position…bit problematic though, the kid's a biotic, he's put up a barrier." A voice said as the Captain's Omni-tool glowed orange.

"Sir, that's my brother they're talking about. Let me talk to him." John shouted, his palms were now fists. Giving John a glance, the officer nodded and tapped a fingers to his wrist and said,

"Stand down, I'll be there ASAP. Johnson out." Turning to John, the officer beckoned him to follow him.

Jason bit back a snarl as he stretched open palm against the unknowns facing him. His body was glowing blue, a strong barrier that would've protect him from the worst against those guns the people in blue armor held. He then heard rustling and his eyes widened as he saw his elder brother whose hair was caked with mud and his face was plastered with dust and soot. Along with his brother was another blue armored man who was wearing a beret.

"Jason, these people are with the Alliance, we can trust them so put down your barrier."

"Are you sure about that? Mom and Dad always said that we can't trust strangers." Jason retorted.

"Men, holster your weapons." Johnson ordered to his men's disbelief.

"But sir-"One marine protested.

"DO IT" The marines all immediately stowed their weapons and Jason, seeing his brother's nod closed his eyes and the blue flames around him as well as on his body dissipated into thin air. John rushed and caught his brother as he saw his knees giving in.

"You look like crap John." Jason murmured.

"You too little brother, just when I thought you couldn't get any uglier." John retorted with a grin.

"Really, if I were that ugly, why was I able to ask Allison Stark, the most sought out girl to the dance?"

"You got lucky…"

"Right…I can walk by myself, thanks." Jason remarked sarcastically. Both boys became paler as they neared what was their home just a few hours ago. They could barely recognize it, what was once a green, peaceful, quiet paradise was now a burning, foul stench nightmare that will rest in the back of both boys' heads for the rest of their lives.

"Were there any others?" John asked while Jason could only look down at the charred earth. With a sad look in his eyes, the Alliance officer simply shook his head. They reached the town square, or what had been the town square where blue UT-47 shuttles were resting on the ground. Along with them, rows of bodies were covered up with white sheets. Suddenly John saw Jason run off from his position next to him.

"Jason, wait! What are you going?" John's question was answered as he saw the familiar long lavender sleeve that stuck out of a white sheet, and a familiar silver ring that was around a pale, bloodied hand. John closed his eyes as he saw a sheet covering an obviously smaller body right next to the one that he knew was his father underneath.

Beside him, Jason had fallen to his knees and hands, tears freely running down his eyes as he tried gasping for air. "Why?...Why?...Why?" He croaked with agony and let out an incoherent pained cry as he beat the ground beneath him, there was nothing John could do but to wrap his arms around his younger brother as he felt his own tears trailing down his face and down to the earth.

The two brothers stayed there weeping for who knows how long till John felt a hand on his shoulder. Slowly he got his young brother to stand up, who slowly approached the body, kneeling down and pulled the ring off his father's finger. Wordlessly, Jason allowed his brother to escort him into a blue shuttle, which sympathetic faces beckoned them into.

"So…you kids having anyone we can contact?" Captain Johnson asked in a gentler tone.

"Our mother, XO Hannah Shepard of the SSV Kilimanjaro." John whispered after a while, Jason simply stared vacantly ahead.

All the marines, Johnson included immediately stared wide-eye at the two children. Even as they approached the Alliance ship, John and Jason did not seem to be excited at the least. Which was understandable since they just saw their home leveled to a burning inferno and their family gone before their eyes.

The two boys didn't say another word then, even when Johnson had sent the ship's psychologist to talk to them. Johnson sighed sadly when he received word that the two survivors had refused to say anything as he examined their files, which he had dug up from the Mindoir Civilian Archives. He could barely believe it, one boy was sixteen, the other was only fourteen. Those boys have had enough pain to last a life time, Johnson thought and prayed that no further misfortune would fall upon them as he stood up and looked out the thick windows into the vast twinkling void.

* * *

**_Four Years Later, Earth, Sol System_**

It was a warm, sunny day in spring as John, with a proud smile on his face applauded heavily as his little brother's name was called out and he walked up to the podium, dressed in his college graduation robes. He'd always know that his brother was a smart-ass prodigy, used to be nerd when they were younger when it came to science and mathematics but it surprised even him that he had graduated from university, not just any university but Harvard University Summa Cum Laude at the age of nineteen.

John merely rolled his eyes when he saw his mother tearing up with joy next to him. Hannah Shepard was dressed in her military uniform, as was John, which obviously set them apart from the rest of the people around them.

"Your father would have been so proud….of both of you." Hannah whispered as the tears freely rolled down her cheek from the normally stoic and unemotional Executive Officer. Crying was suppose to be a sign of weakness, no matter in what military one served in but John felt the urge to join his mother as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

Over the years, the changes had been significant on both of them ever since they left Mindoir; they've witnessed and stared into the face of death for one. Their childhood had died that day; John shook his head as he recalled that Jason had not once smiled care freely after they left Mindoir even as they were reunited with their mother. That encountered just made even more tears leave their eyes. What was left of the Shepard family had relocated back to Earth where the boys went to live with their grandparents while their mother resumed her duties as Lieutenant on the SSV Kilimanjaro.

Appearance aside, John reckoned that they didn't change much, aside from his short military style hair cut which Jason constantly teased him about. Jason himself retained his thick, unruly brown hair, prominent chin and brow, chiseled jaw and sharp cheekbones. While others may look at Jason and see him as a pretty boy, John knew better, despite his outward skinniness, the younger Shepard had a black belt in Taekwondo as well as Karate and Kendo. Not an opponent to be underestimated indeed.

Reflecting on his own experiences since Mindoir, John felt that he did okay, considering that he got through military training. His mother was originally distressed at his decision, she had wanted normal lives for both her children but relented after hearing his rather powerful speech. Jason had snorted and said that he should've been a politician, earning him a rather long knuckle sandwich. He had wanted to make a difference in the world; he'd have no idea that he'd be the only one who could make a difference.

He clapped loudly and smiled as he saw Jason and the rest of his classmates throw their graduation hats into the air.

* * *

**_Arcturus Station, Arcturus Stream_**

"It is with great personal honor that I bestow the Star of Terra, the highest and prestigious military honor of the Systems Alliance, upon newly promoted Commander Jonathan Daniel Shepard, for his immense courage in the face of impossible odds and for his vital role in the preservation of our colony at Elysium." John was emotionless as the cameras flashed when his superior placed the Star of Terra on his uniform, by all means he should be happy but he had lost a lot of good men and women on Elysium who were the ones that deserved honor and recognition.

People had called and hailed him as a hero but the word meant nothing to him, the entire ceremony felt alien and wrong. When he first stood on Elysium, it vividly reminded him of that night when his family were fleeing from Batarians.

It was what drove him on, he'd never want another family to go through what he and his brother went through, that thought spurred him on to hold his position against the never-ending waves of four-eye hell spawns.

He was subjugated to a psych evaluation as soon as he came back from Elysium, he'd admit, killing Batarians brought him great satisfaction but it seemed to be only temporary. Then the guilt, which he'd first refused to admit ate him away, it would seem that he still had a conscience after all.

John mentally sighed, as he didn't spot his brother in the crowd, it had saddened and angered their mother when Jason announced that he had decided to join the Alliance. Of the two of them, Hannah had wished that her youngest wouldn't follow in his brother's footsteps, John had concurred with her.

_**Bekenstein, Serpent Nebula**_

_"I'm not five anymore mom, I can choose whatever I want to do." Jason said icily in the spacious living room in their large house in Bekenstein. _

_"I know you aren't Jay, but why? You said military lifestyle isn't for you." Hannah replied as she sat down on the cream beige sofas. _

_"I admit, shooting people and blowing up things is probably more John's ideal lifestyle but the Alliance needs people like me. The four eye freaks are never going to learn and stop killing our innocents. I'm tired of not being able to do anything while innocents are out there in the mercy of those animals!" Jason replied, trying to reign in his rage. _

_"I know you want to make a difference brother and I am proud that you could pass the combat training so easily but those are merely simulations." John warned as he looked into his brother's ice blue eyes, nearly everyone in the military had heard of the inhumane speed of progress of Jason Edward Shepard. He heard whispers that some recruits were even afraid of him, as he was so emotionless and calculating. _

_"I'm going to be fine just trust me," Jason said in a more gentler tone, "Mom I love you." _

_Hannah sighed as her youngest son kissed her cheek and hugged her tightly. "Alright…but stay safe the two of you." Hannah replied with a smile as she beckoned John over and the three of them shared a Shepard family hug. _

_"Just like your father…stubborn asses." Jason and John heard their mother whisper and cringed when Hannah bonked both of their heads with a fist._

* * *

**_Torfan_**

"Good shot!" Lieutenant Jason Shepard smirked as he pulled the trigger on his uniquely modified Black Widow and another Batarian had his head blown off into a bloody mess. He'd majored in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, thus modifying a gun wasn't that big of a challenge.

The Black Widow could shot three times, in Jason's case five, instead of only once before reloading on the M-98 Widow. From the first day, he held a weapon in his hand; Jason knew he was destined to be a sniper, it just felt right in his hand so it was no surprise that he fell in love with the Black Widow when he picked it up. He'd often remarked to his older brother for being a brute who always opted charged into the face of danger.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he blew the heads off of three Batarians through his scope and with ease ejected the thermal clip before slamming in a new one. Ahead of him were foot soldiers were pushing forward towards through the heavily fortified Batarian compound.

"Lieutenant, We need more cover fire." Major Kyle said through the device attached to Jason's ear.

"With pleasure." Jason replied and continued doing what he did best, killing Batarians. After what seemed to be an eternity, all resistance was decimated around the area of the compound and finally was Jason allowed to move from his cover and stretch his tired arms and legs.

"That thing's not going to work in the enclosed spaces up ahead. I suggest you switch to a closer range weapon." Jason scowled but didn't accept the M-8 Avenger.

"You sure?" Major Kyle asked as Jason walked off, his only response was blue flares appearing on the Lieutenant's body. Though they didn't receive much casualties as they pushed deeper into the dark slaver facility, Jason felt uneasy, it wasn't just the foul stench in the air that troubled him.

"Four eye bastards are stupid but they aren't _that _stupid." Jason thought to himself, the sounds of turrets being set up answered his worries. "Oh fuck."

Thinking quickly, he thrust his hands out and a large barrier erected before him shielding him and his squad mates behind.

* * *

**_Arcturus Station, Arcturus Stream_**

"I'm sure he's okay Ma," John Shepard said as he saw his mother bite her lip on the video image via Omni-tool in his room.

"I don't know, it's his first real mission." Hannah replied, face filled with worry.

"Mom, Jason's a hell of a biotic and sniper, not to mention his hand to hand combat skills…he'll be fine. Chief Ellison didn't even yell at him once because he was apparently quote "got everything perfect in his first goddamn try."

"I hope you're right dear." John cringed, he loved his mother dearly but it was still a bit uncomfortable to hear his mother was still treating as if he was still a kid.

* * *

As Jason pushed on deeper into the gloomy, poor lighting slaver facility and entered a large spacious rectangular room that acted like an entertainment area or something close to it. He glowed blue, he pushed out his right arm and smirked when the Batarians were dragged from the ground against their will from his Singularity. Three consecutive shots from his M-3 Predator pistol took care of them. Firing a warp, Jason watched as he shredded a Batarian in two.

He turned around and saw the rest of his squad breathing heavily, as if they've just ran a marathon, which he grudgingly supposed they just did and more. They haven't received much, barely any casualties, because Jason had asserted himself to the very front of the lines, using his Biotics to create barriers to protect his squad behind him. It was a sound strategy on paper but it was more exhausting in reality.

"Major, I have a proposition…" Jason proposed in an emotionless voice as they finished eliminating all hostiles in the area.

"Yes Lieutenant?"

"Noticing our squad's exhausted state, I volunteer myself in scouting the area ahead." Major Kyle was about to chew his lieutenant's ass out but giving a glance around and knew his second in command was correct. His squad wasn't in a state to resume combat, that and Jason Shepard was the only one who was not breathing heavily save himself.

"Okay son, we'll stay and secure this area but stay safe soldier."

"Yes sir," Jason said with a salute, which was returned and quickly walked towards the door at the far end of the room.

"He's crazy." One marine remarked to his comrade as the door automatically closed behind Jason.

"Yeah but you see how he kicked the asses of those four eyed freaks with only his force powers?" The second marine exclaimed with excitement.

"Its called Biotics." A female marine integrated herself into the conversation.

"Whatever, I wish I could do that." The excited marine replied.

* * *

Jason gritted his teeth as he hid behind a crate, he peeked around the edge of the crate and fired a singularity, which caused two Batarians to float hopelessly in the air, pulling the trigger twice on his pistol, Jason pushed deeper. Truth be told, he didn't like being placed in a squad, it meant that he always had to cover someone else's ass; he'd prefer working alone. Back in military training, Ellison had called him "A narcissistic bastard who only cared for his own survival, but does a hell of a job at completing his objective."

Finishing off another Batarian with another warp, Jason leapt over the crate from which he was hiding behind and found sanctuary behind another crate. The rapid machine gun firing at his cover gave him a good idea that turrets were being placed.

"Let's give them a surprise." The lieutenant thought with a grin as he peeked around the edge of the crate, tapped his Omni-tool and sent an overload, which fried the shields of a heavily armored Batarian. Without a second's hesitation, Jason glowed blue and thrusting his right hand forward, he shot a shockwave, which caused all foes in its trajectory to fly into the air violently as if they were weightless.

Slumping down to the floor, Jason wiped the sweat from his forehead, he'd never use his Biotics this frequently before and now it was slowly taking a toll on him. But the image of a smiling girl with long red hair appeared in his fatigue mind and instantly his knees rose against his battered body's protest. Catching his breath, Jason picked up some thermal clips from the Batarians he'd just killed and ejected a magazine before slamming a new one in.

Unknowingly to the lieutenant, Major Kyle and the rest of his squad had decided to go after him when he failed to report back in, "Shit, he did all this?" A marine asked out loud to no one in particular as he walked pass a dead Batarian who was ripped in half from the waist.

Another marine just whistled, "Stow it Marine, Riley take point. Be alert, we don't have the Lieutenant coddling us with barriers." Major Kyle warned as he walked passed more Batarian corpses. He could hardly believe that one man could have done all. He readied his M-8 Avenger as he heard gunshots coming from the next door.

"Please have mercy! We surrendered." Jason ignored their pleas as he executed the remaining Batarians one by one with cold fury plastered on his face. Some tried to run and their lives ended with shots to their backs.

"Lieutenant, _stand _down!" Major Kyle barked from the second level as he and his squad ran down the stairs just to see Jason had executed every single Batarian.

All the marines watched as Major Kyle punched the Lieutenant across the face with a right hook. "What the hell are you doing? This wasn't a fight, you were slaughtering enemies that had already surrendered."

"They _deserved_ it." Jason spat, as he did so, his eyes glanced at a door underneath the stairs.

"Riley, Martins go check out that door." Awkwardly, the two marines broke from the group and the sound of the door mechanically opening and closing signaled that they had entered. Glaring at the Major, Jason turned and sat down on a long row metallic bench while examining his helmet, or what was left of it anyways.

"Unlucky hit from a rocket to the side of the face, mom's going to make a big deal out of this." He sighed as he placed the wrecked helmet beside him.

"Major, we've got survivors, lots of them, all of them in poor condition. It's not looking good sir." Major Kyle's Omni-tool glowed orange as Riley's sickened voice emanated from it. The Major gave a glance at the Lieutenant, whose palms were curled into fists and his face distorted with contempt.

"Stay where you are marine, we're going in." Kyle ordered and turned off his Omni-tool. Jason didn't say a word as he stood up and examined his pistol. "The nightmare was over." He thought, but he was about to find out that there was worse lying ahead of him.

* * *

**_Bekenstein, Serpent Nebula_**

The intricately designed glass door opened automatically and Jason was surprised to be hugged no more by his elder brother, which he awkwardly returned.

"Good to see you in one piece, little brother. Mom's been worried sick, now that you're back, she'll stop pestering me." John said with a grin as they exited the Bekenstein ship docks.

"Well, you're the hero of Elysium, I think you can handle mom." Jason yelped with surprise as his older brother placed him in a headlock.

"You okay, I heard it was a rough ride." John asked with concern.

"How'd you know, I thought everything was classified." Jason replied, all humor aside.

"I've got my ways…so, you want to talk about it?" John said with a shrug as they entered the Maglev train, which barely had any people in it.

"Hmph, don't have to worry about the bugs…ingenious, I'm impressed….guess you do have some brains in that brutish skull of yours." Jason remarked, earning a dark look from his elder brother.

He was very tempted to tell off his older brother for trying to act like a psychologist but with a sigh, Jason started talking. "You weren't there brother, seeing all those slaves and the despicable things done to them…for God's sakes, there were children!"

"I understand your intentions but here…I really hate to say this but certain protocols must be followed, you're lucky they didn't court-martial your ass."

"Well, I did singlehandedly wipe out a Batarian base with almost no casualties…figure they thought that was pretty impressive." Jason retorted icily, while John just shook his head and kept quiet.

"Hey, did you receive this too?" The younger Shepard asked after a while with curiosity as he fished out an envelope with an N seal. John's eyes widened with shock as he nodded, Jason smiled.

"I've always wanted to see Brazil again."

**Please Read & Review, this is my Mass Effect fanfict. The next chapter will probably fly pass time pretty quick considering how long the three games are combined. **


	2. Loss

**Author's Notice- Okay seriously wow, not much Male Shep/Liara fans out there? Been browsing other ficts for this pairing, I'm surprised that some aren't getting the credit they deserve. One or two reviews per couple chapters, I really applaud those for going on, you're all good in my books. To every Male Shep/Liara fict and writer out there, hold the line! Mind you, some things might be AU in because of Jason's existence. Miranda will make her first appearance in this fic! **

**In other news, my Harry Potter fanficts will be updated after I get over the emotional touching ending of Halo 4. The first game since Assassins Creed: Revelations, and parts of Mass Effect 3 since I have shed tears to. Yeah I CRIED to Halo, me, a college student, so what? I grew up with the series. To all Mass Effect fans, Jennifer Hale, the voice actor for femShep and Keith Szarabajka, the voice actor for Harbinger all have parts in Halo 4 and they did spectacular. I was playing co-op with my cousin then my little brother actually shouted, "Harbinger!" when Mr. Szarabajka's character first spoke. **

**Chapter 1: Reality**

**Location: Citadel Presidium, Serpent Nebula**

"He's gone son…there were no survivors from the wreckage," Jason's mouth was agape as he struggled to comprehend the truth thrown in front of him. He had just been released by the hospital when he had heard of an unknown attack on the _SSV-Normandy SR-1_ and currently was standing in Citadel Councilor candidate David Anderson's new office.

"I'm sorry son." Anderson finished in a heavy tone as he placed a comforting hand on the blank staring, emotionless soldier before him.

"No, this can't be…no, it's impossible…this is just a nightmare, it can't be…wake up, wake up. This isn't real." Jason felt the Captain's voice drown out as he fell slowly into the dark, bottomless abyss. There was nothing surrounding him but darkness. Then he heard voices.

_"First one back home is a slowpoke." The voice of a boy called out. _

_"I'm not a slowpoke!" A younger voice echoed. _

_"The boys at school bullied me again." The younger voice spoke first this time, sniffing. _

_"Hang tight, I'll take care of them…no one beats up my little brother cept me." The older voice replied angrily at first then humorously. _

_"What do you think is up there in the stars?" The younger voice asked inquisitively. _

_"Green mean aliens that like to eat children, giant spiders and evil robots…" The older voice replied in a superbly real frightening tone "Mom says that's not true! Quit trying to scare me Johnny!"_

Jason was walked out of the office slowly, not seeing the sad and distressed face on Anderson's face, the famous soldier of Torfan didn't know and didn't care as his name was called out by his brother's team members, all he could hear were the conversations of him and his brother echoing in his mind and the memories that flashed around him.

Going fishing with his older brother and father, building model starships together, cooking for his parents' wedding anniversary despite making a huge mess, John playing the piano while he played the violin to a grand audience for a concert, surviving the most tragic and painful chapter in their lives with each other, joining and passing the insanely rigorous N program as brothers and finally being able to complete an operation together, chasing down the rogue Turian Spectre Saren Arterius only to learn that that a race of ancient sentient machines called Reapers were the masterminds behind the shroud of darkness.

He stared blankly into the beautiful but marred Presidium Grounds as the N7 operative rested his arms on the railing, the sight had awed him when he first came here but was nothing but another monument that reminded him of the terrors he'd been through and what he'd lost.

He then felt a hand on his shoulder and turning his head sideways and looked into the big, forlorn blue eyes of his brother's girlfriend, Liara T'Soni.

The shy, Prothean knowledgeable, socially awkward Asari was faring worse than he was, he had heard from Garrus Vakarian, a former Turian C-Sec officer and teammate that the Asari had never stopped crying since being forced to abandon the heavily damaged _SSV-Normandy SR-1_.

"I'm so sorry, Jason…the whole thing was my fault! I should have stayed with him!" Liara sobbed, tears running down her eyes.

Unsure of how to comfort the distressed woman next to him, Jason merely placed a hand on her shoulder and said in a rather mechanical voice, "It's not your fault Liara, you would have died if you had stayed. My brother knew what he was doing, he loved you, that's why he did it…"

At this, the Asari researcher finally broke and cried loudly into her friend's chest. There was nothing he could do but to hug the devastated girl, what could he possibly say? As a person who's suffered from the loss of family, he understood the feeling.

He remained emotionless as David Anderson called all of Shepard's team together for a debriefing in a rather gloomy atmosphere filled meeting room adjacent to his office. Along with him were Garrus, Liara, Ashley Williams, a soldier that had survived Eden Prime, a human colony where Jason first saw Sovereign and encountered the Geth, a race of advanced AI machines.

They got along fine together unlike his brother, who'd chosen Liara over the Gunnery Chief and thus a suffocating tension was created whenever the three of them were in the same room. However, Jason could see that Ashley was distraught, "Surivor's Guilt…"

Images of Virmire instantly returned, along with them was Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, a close friend of his and John's had sacrificed himself to ensure that the Krogan Cloning Facility would be destroyed. It was a victory but a bitter one, there were no cheers aboard the Normandy as they left Virmire.

As much as he'd hated it, John made the right decision, opting to help the Salarian STG team, Captain Kirrahe and Ashley. Kaidan was badly wounded and decided to arm the nuke.

He could still faintly hear the whispers crawling in the back of his brain, _"I've armed the nuke, go get Ashley, you know it's the right thing to do Commander!" Kaidan's voice emanated from John's Omni-tool. _

_"Stay alive, Kaidan, we're going to come back for you." John shouted as they went to help Ashley and the Salarian STG team. _

_After a lapse of silence, Kaidan said in a resigned tone, "I think we both know that's not going to happen…it's been an honor serving under you…..I'll see you on the other side Commander." Kaidan's voice was replaced with silence shortly._

_"_We've never had a chance to drink to his memories…" Jason thought bitterly as he vividly remembered the Normandy being grounded by the Council, who'd wish to slide everything under the rug and pretend that nothing was awry.

Sitting next to Ashley was Tali Zorah Vas Neema, a Quarian who'd had helped John and Jason immensely with evidence regarding to Saren's turning rogue in addition to discovering the imminent Reaper threat and the mentioning of the Conduit on Illos. While onboard the Normandy, she'd settled on the Engineering deck where she had impressed everyone with her knowledge.

While John was always chatting up with his crew members, Jason would occasionally spend long hours talking with the young Quarian as they were both mechanical geniuses, though his Quarian friend would modestly say that such knowledge was common amongst her people.

Due to the weak immune system of her people, Tali rarely, if ever removed her environmental suit. She had told him and John that Quarian immune systems have always been relatively weak, as pathogenic microbes were comparatively rare in their homeworld's biosphere. Furthermore, what few viruses and other microbes were native to their homeworld were often at least partly beneficial to them, giving them a symbiotic relationship with their environment.

After living aboard the Migrant Fleet for generations, the Quarians' immune systems have atrophied further still due to the years in the sterile environment of the Migrant Fleet. As such, Quarians are given various vaccinations and immunizations to help ward off disease. However, they prefer the safety of their suits even in clean environments and are reluctant to remove them without a good reason.

Still, the suit has its perks as Jason, Garrus, Ashley and John had found out on the poker table, as it was very difficult to read the Quarian's facial expression. Jason looked around and sadly noted that Wrex, the Krogan wasn't with them, though he said it was tempting to stay aboard the Normandy and continue to kill giant things with big guns, he had to return to Tuchanka, the Krogan homeworld to help with reuniting his clan. As the debriefing ended, Anderson subtly left the team that took down Saren alone after giving Jason a forlorn nod.

"So…" Everyone turned his or her heads to Jason who spoke softly. "What'd you all planning to do now?"

An uncomfortable silence filled the conference room, it was strange how in the beginning, each individual in the room has come together and formed a strong relationship for one another, nobody really wanted to say goodbye after everything they've been through together after forming such close bonds.

"I was thinking about going back to the Migrant Fleet to deliver the data we got from the Geth." Tali said nervously, twirling her hands together.

"I understand Tali and I wish you the best." Jason replied and stuck out a hand, instead he was momentarily surprised when the Quarian flung herself towards him, resulting in a rather awkward hug.

"Keep in touch." The shy engineer said softly into his ear before pulling away.

"Will do." Jason replied then turned towards Garrus, who seemed to be in deep thought.

"Honestly, between you and me, I have no idea…I mean I didn't really thought about nor expected a career change, returning back to C-Sec now might seem like a demotion…" The Turian remarked.

"Well, why not trying out to be a Spectre?" Jason asked.

"Well, why didn't you?" Garrus shot back.

"Because politics isn't my strongest suit. And that Turian councilor really pisses me off." The brown haired man replied with a shrug, causing a few of his squadmates to chuckle.

"How about you Ash? You staying with the Alliance?" Jason turned to the brown haired woman.

The former Gunnery Chief of the _SSV Normandy SR-1_ took a moment before replying, "I'd like to but I don't know, it'll be surreal to be doing deskwork after the stuff we've been through, what about you?"

Jason raised an eyebrow, noticing that everyone was now looking at him. "What do you mean?" He asked.

"I think what Williams is trying to say for all of us is that we appreciate your concerns but we want to know what you'll be doing." Garrus summarized with a cough.

Jason sighed as he turned away from the faces of sympathy and turned towards the magnificent view of the citadel in front of him bathed in an orange glow signifying the end of a galactic day.

"It seems so peaceful…" He thought to himself as he surveyed the busy traffic, but he knew it was all a façade, it is in nature for people to delude themselves even when a crisis approaches. Millions of people lived on the Citadel, ignorant of the fact that the Citadel itself was an inactive Mass Relay leading to dark space, designed as a trap so the Reapers can wipe out the heart of galactic civilization and leadership in a single, devastating strike.

John and Jason managed to stop Sovereign but knew they had only delayed the Reapers from crossing over.

Closing his eyes, a voice that constantly haunted his nightmares whispered, "_We are legion. The time of our return is coming. Our numbers will darken the sky of every world. _

_You cannot escape your doom…_

_We have no beginning. We have no end. We are infinite….._

_My kind transcends your very understanding…you cannot even grasp the nature of our existence…._

_You exist because we allow it, and you will end because we __**demand**__ it."_

If Sovereign was correct and there were countless more like him waiting in the dark, then the galaxy is doomed. What was more disturbing was that nobody believed that Reapers existed save Jason and his team.

"Is this the end? For us to live our final days in a delusional peace?" He thought helplessly to himself as he was engulfed by darkness.

"No, no this can't be. They aren't here yet, maybe its not too late." The hero of Torfan assessed.

With renewed faith, he turned to face his team, "I'm going to continue on."

There were no shortages of hugs, goodbyes and other sentimentalities as the team that took down Saren and Sovereign disbanded. Garrus, Ashley, Liara and Jason waved as they watched their friend Tali board an Alliance Frigate that would no doubt send her back to the Migrant Fleet.

"I think its best we get going too." Jason said after Tali's ship disappeared from sight, noting that many people were starting to notice them.

"Good luck, LC." Ashley embraced her friend.

"Same to you Chief, keep in touch?"

"Of course." With that, they broke contact and the brown haired man turned to his Turian friend.

"Sorry but Turians don't hug…" Garrus joked and offered a hand, which Jason shook with amusement. He waited for Liara to finish saying her goodbyes before the both of them boarded the shuttle that would take them to Bekenstein. Garrus and Ashley waved and watched until the ship carrying their friends disappeared in the midst of many other ships.

"_Executor Pallin…certainly didn't expect to work under him again." _Garrus thought moodily as he made his way to C-Sec Headquarters.

**On Route to Bekenstein**

"I don't know if this was the best option for me." Liara said in a quiet tone as she twirled her hands nervously.

"Mother wants to meet you, you'll like her a lot. Trust me." Jason replied as he took out a silver framed photo and stared longingly at it. All the people were all formally dressed, his parents were sitting together with his sister while John and himself were standing on both sides of the chair striking imposing poses in their black tuxedos. The picture changed, in its place was now a picture of two young boys and a small girl playing building sand structures on the sand.

"John never told me that he had a sister…" Liara murmured and looked nervous when Jason met her eyes.

"He didn't?" The Asari shook her head.

"I'm not surprised, it's a tabooed subject."

"If it isn't too rude of me to ask, what happened to her?" Liara murmured with her eyes down.

"Batarian slavers attacked Mindoir when we were younger, John and I were separated from our father and Jennifer…they didn't make it," Jason replied in a hard tone, the thought of his sister had always brought a lot of pain to his chest, "John didn't tell you?"

"No…I'd always felt he had withheld something when we melded." The Asari replied. Jason had nothing to comment as he remained silent the entire trip.

When they arrived at Bekenstein, Jason quickly recognized the dark navy blue Alliance CO uniform his mother was wearing and sighed when she embraced him.

"It's good to have you back at home…the place is so quiet with me alone." Hannah whispered and her body started to shake as the tears came.

"I'm sorry Ma…" Jason whispered, not knowing what good it would do but said it anyways.

"Nonsense, you weren't cleared for duty…it didn't have anything to do with you." Hannah said in a strong voice despite her obvious distress as she placed a hand on both his shoulders. Liara was standing awkwardly just a few steps away to give her friend and his mother some personal space as she wringed her hands nervously together.

That was when she noticed Hannah Shepard was walking towards her. Liara noted that Hannah was in her mid forties and there were few grey hairs amidst her closely cropped brown hair. No emotion was displayed on her face as Liara felt herself being scanned by Hannah Shepard's penetrating blue eyes.

"Doctor T'Soni, it's a pleasure to meet you." Hannah stuck out a hand.

"The pleasure is all mine, Captain Shepard." Liara replied quietly as she shook the outstretched arm.

"Call me Hannah, Liara…may I call you Liara?" Hannah asked slowly.

"Of course…Hannah." Liara smiled, a bit awed of how similar her mother and Hannah Shepard were. She was thankful that Hannah seemed to warm up to her instantly like Jason said she would as she noted that humans were generally distrustful towards other species.

Even aboard the _Normandy _she felt like an outcast when John, Jason, Garrus or Tali weren't able to talk to her. She steered clear of Wrex, as Krogan had very short tempers and Ashley Williams, it was clear the moment they met that they wouldn't be friends. It only worsened as they were both vying for John's affections. The Asari was very irritated when she had found out that Garrus and Jason had gotten a lot of the crew to bet on who would win should it come to blows.

On their way to where the Shepards lived, Liara and Hannah conversed as they sought to understand each other better while Jason remained quiet at the driver's seat in the skycar.

The Shepard Residence was very modern, stylish two story house that laid on the edge of the city. As Liara disembarked from the skycar and entered the house after Jason and Hannah, she noticed the numerous frames of photos on top of the shoe cabinet. The asari smiled as she saw a picture of John as a child being half buried in sand by his younger brother and sister.

"I have things I need to sort out, I'll be in my room if you need me." Jason replied and very slowly hugged his mother back before walking up the stairs in a tired, slouched fashion, the posture of a lost man. That left Liara with Hannah alone as the Asari walked cautiously into the living room after the Alliance Captain.

"So," Hannah broke the silence as they sat on the spacious couches, "How did you meet my son?" Liara's blue eyes sparkled as a memory appeared and blossomed in her mind.

**~0~**

Meanwhile, Jason entered his room, walked past his model ships and super hero collectibles that were carefully sealed in clear glass displays and plopped onto his bed. Placing a hand over his eyes, in the darkness where only a few rays of sunlight that could penetrate the dark drapes, he wept.

"That sounds like John. Always putting everyone in front of him if possible." Hannah smiled as she listened to Liara retelling the encounter with the Thorian on Feros. The colonists on Feros were infected with the spores of the Thorian. Using the pain to control their behavior, making them literally, mindless husks for the sentient plant.

However, John ordered them to use the modified nerve gas grenades that were given by Julianna Baynham, an ExoGeni Corporation scientist. Therefore no colonist casualty was inflicted.

"You have mail! You have mail!" Jason awoke frantically, only to see that the sun was almost done setting, signaling the start of the night. Unwillingly, he sat up, stared at the terminal on his desk. After changing into his old maroon university hoodie and long black sweat pants, he sat down on his chair at his terminal. His eyes widened as a flash of shock appear on his face but it receded as quickly as it came and his fingers started to dance rapidly on the holographic keyboard.

It wasn't until the skies had darkened completely and was dinnertime did Hannah walked up the stairs and stop in front on her child's door. Hesitating, walked forward and the door slide aside.

As a mother, she smiled when she saw Jason at his terminal, his eyes glued on the screen and typing ridiculously fast, it was all too similar site to when he was in school and would always be up late in the night working hard.

Jason paused and turned to face her and the tiniest of smiles appeared on his face as he stood up and after walking several steps on the carpeted floor, they embraced. As a child, he didn't get to see his mother a lot due to her job, it was only when she was given offshore duty could their family be together and he often worried about his mother, as anything could happen whilst in space.

"Dinner's ready, how's does some good old fashioned pepperoni pizza sound?" Hannah patted her son comfortingly on the back.

"It sounds great." Jason replied.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Hannah inquired, sensing her son's uneasiness.

Jason broke away from his mother's embrace and walked to the large glass window. "If you could save a person's life, even if the odds of success is low and different morally grey methods have to be taken to do so, would you do it?" He turned around and asked.

_****_**~0~**

_**Location: Unknown**_

A supersized, glowing star casted its light into a darkened office, the star burned with a mesmerizing yet foreshadowing glow of a raging red surrounded by a calming blue, both grappling for dominance.

A lone figure sat inside the office, his chair facing the star. He was dressed in an expensive designer suit, surrounding his chair were holographic monitors with varying charts and reports filled with data on various operations, funds, and information to be stored, analyzed and deployed at the opportune moment.

Scanning the monitors, the Illusive Man smirked at some and scowled at others however always continued to process the information he received with a calm, cold detachment. News vids in addition to the reports he received from his agents recounted the story of the Citadel Invasion, the center and the "heart" of galactic power.

Destruction of the presidium, innumerable damage on the wards, remnants of the once mighty Citadel fleet; everything regarding to the invasion was observed and processed by the Illusive Man. The attack once again proved his point of the vulnerability of aliens, that the Citadel Council was not infallible, untouchable nor invincible.

The Illusive Man paused as he scanned the report of the response of the Alliance to the attack. The Alliance was weak, filled with politicians, fattened officials, and unreliable military branches. The Alliance was a slow, blunt weapon weighed down by laws, conventions and public opinions. Humanity would be without a future if they were entrusted to make the decisions. If the Alliance weren't naively withdrawn from their alien allies, then they were bowing down to the other species in a pathetic attempt to appease them.

The Illusive Man knew all of this, thus only Cerberus could uphold humanity. Only Cerberus could advance humanity above all others. _Cerberus IS humanity. _The Illusive Man then turned his head towards a picture of Commander John Shepard and Lieutenant Commander Jason Shepard on the monitor.

Both were extraordinary in their unique ways though he found the latter to be a fascinating individual as he read the report, he'd wondered why a graduate from the prestigious Harvard University would end up working for the alliance. The incident on Torfan has obviously elevated the young man to a legendary status though a few in the Alliance were wary about the way he executed the Batarians that had surrendered.

Upon digging more, the Illusive Man could understand why, an attack on the colony world Mindoir in the year 2170 by Batarian slavers was one of the most severe Human-Batarian confrontations. The report stated that only two survivors were known, a 16 year old boy and his 14 year old brother.

What made the younger Shepard all the more interesting for the Illusive Man was that he had rejected Spectre status when it was offered to him, twice, once with his older brother and the second time being after the Geth invasion.

_I wonder... _thought the Illusive Man as he smoked from the cigarette in his hand while he stared at Jason Shepard's photo on the holographic monitor before turning his attention at the other reports gathered by his agents. Humanity, after so long, has finally been given a spot on the council. For centuries, the council remained a triumvirate. The three "dominant" species in Citadel Space: Asari, Turian and Salarian, held the highest positions of power and had always kept humanity at a distance.

However everything changed with the Geth invasion and the timely rescue from the Alliance, the presence humanity held was undeniable. With the Citadel fleet crippled and the alien races scrambling to protect their individual spaces, the Alliance now held the dominant fleet.

Having said that, nothing lasts forever, the Illusive Man knew that sooner or later, the newfound power of the Alliance will fade as time passes, what political advantage will disappear along with it. Gratitude will eventually turn to distrust. Old paranoia and resentment will resurface and with time, the alien fleets would be rebuild and inevitably, would seek to re-attain their dominance and humanity would once again be shoved into the back seat which is unacceptable.

His eyes narrowed as he read the report on the destruction of the Normandy and the Commander's death. As unfortunate as it was, he was a man of vision and had the countermeasure if such case happened. Project Lazarus was ready to be put in action though one small problem remained, Commander Shepard's body must first be recovered. He then tapped a button on a holo-monitor and the projection disk behind him went online.

"Miranda." The Illusive Man greeted without looking away as he studied Jason Shepard's dossier.

"Sir." She greeted simply, devoid of any emotion.

"Before Project Lazarus can begin, there is another matter I wish to discuss with you." The Illusive Man took a drag from his cigarette, Miranda Lawson remained silent and straight as she waited patiently for her boss to continue.

"I have sent you the dossier and all relative information regarding to Jason Shepard, do whatever it takes to get him on our side." The Illusive Man ordered, not turning back to face the projection disk.

"With all due respect, sir, what makes you so sure that he'll work for us?" Miranda asked slowly, she had briefly skimmed over the report on the potential recruit and thought would never admit it to a soul but she was impressed. But she had her doubts whether he'll willingly quit the Alliance to join Cerberus.

"He'll work with us. I made sure of it. Head to Illium, I already sent you the location of where you will meet him. I want you ready when he arrives." The Illusive Man said in a tone that signaled the end of the debate.

"Yes sir." Miranda responded and the holographic projection disappeared.

**~0~**

Midnight had engulfed Bekenstein as the city slept peacefully, the same could not be said for Jason Shepard as he stared blankly in front of his terminal at the mail he had received from an anonymous sender and all attempts to trace it came back negative. The message was vague but to him, it was clear as day.

_Hope is not yet gone, you can regain what you have lost. _

_The galaxy is not yet saved. Do you wish to save it? Head to Illium, at the Eternity Bar near the Nos Astra exchange. _

_Time is short. Decide now._

His mind was a mess as it attempted to process the message, he knew the possibilities of technology were limitless but to bring a person back from the dead. Could it really transform into a reality?

He then stared at the two framed photographs next to his terminal. One was of him and John, who had a hand placed on his shoulder both of them were wearing tuxedos. Jason smiled fondly at the memory, it was taken at his graduation party.

The other was a picture of a young girl with long well kempt red hair and sparkling green eyes with so much hope, optimism and future cased within them.

"Jenny…what should I do?" He asked, his sister merely smiled back at him.

Reluctantly, he rose from his chair and walked out of his room, the doors closing behind him. He was going down to the kitchen for a glass of water when he heard the subtlest sound of someone sobbing in the room next to his. The glass sliding doors weren't set on private mode so he could see who was inside.

It was Liara, lying on John's bed and shoulders shaking as she cried quietly. Jason slowly turned away, giving her the privacy that she needed and silently walked down the hallway, hands clenched in fists, he'd knew the answer to his anonymous acquaintance.

Returning to his room, he turned the monitor of his terminal on, read the mail one last time and clicked reply. After typing and sending his response, Jason began scribbling a letter to his mother and Liara, he knew if this were a movie, people would have talked about how cliché he was being now.

But the mail he received stated that time was running out so why bother waiting around for a reply. He stood up and began changing out of his clothes, changing into a casual outfit that consisted of long black pants, a heat keeping grey long sleeve shirt and a long black coat that went a little below his knees.

He tucked his sidearm, an M-5 Phalanx pistol and tucked it to a holster on his belt. After checking that his omni-tool was in perfect working condition and that his Black Widow sniper rifle was locked safely within its slender case. He took one final glance at his room, and left it one final time.

Before leaving, he carefully walked into his mother's room and approached the lone figure on the large spacious bed. Kneeling down on the ground on his mother's bedside, Jason slowly and tenderly took her hand in his.

"I'm sorry I have to leave in such a fashion Ma, but you told me to follow my heart. My heart tells me to go…" Jason whispered, "I'm going to bring John back home alive, you hang in there." With that, Jason leaned forward and brushed his lips on his mother cheek.

He placed the letter on her bedside table and slowly, with great sadness filling his heart, Jason let her hand go and just as quietly as he came in, he left.

"_John!" Liara ran frantically towards the figure in N7 armor, as the Normandy shook and rumbled beneath their feet. _

_Standing tall and calm despite the mayhem around them, Liara couldn't help but marveled his cool demeanor. His visor was tinted to prevent any exposure to the explosions, protection from the sun's blinding rays or in case of a hull breach. _

_"Distress beacon is ready for launch." John Shepard said, turning towards her. Liara secured her own helmet. _

_"Will the Alliance get here in time?" Another explosion quaked the Normandy. Liara stumbled but Shepard caught her arm in time. Liara smiled beneath her helmet. Another fire broke out near a console. None of the fire suppressor systems were activated. _

_"The Alliance won't abandon us!" Shepard replied as he grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher to combat the flames. "We need to hold on!" _

_Liara nodded and grabbed another fire extinguisher to fight the fire. "Get everyone onto the escape pods." She heard Shepard shout. _

_"Joker is still in the cockpit. He won't abandon ship!" Liara yelled, she turned towards Shepard and saw him attempting to get the fire suppression system working. "I'm not leaving either!" She declared. _

_A nearby console went online, Shepard turned towards Liara and gripped her shoulders. Looking in her eyes, Shepard said, "I need you to get the crew to the evac- shuttles." _

_Turning away, Shepard moved towards the console. "I'll take care of Joker." __Another explosion shocked the deck. _

_Regaining her balance, Liara pleaded, "Commander…John…" _

_"Liara, go!" Shepard turned to look at her one last time. "Please…" _

_Liara stood frozen for a moment, rooted to the ground, only a moment, her heart considering disobeying the order but her legs refused to listen as all she could say was, "Come back to me." _

_Turning around, she ran to get as many crew as she could. Having gathered as many people as she could find, Liara led the way to the nearest escape pod. The foam from the nozzles above their heads made the way harder to run but the fires were no longer a problem. Turning right at the next junction, she heard the VI telling everyone to abandon ship. _

_Stopping in front of the hatch to the escape pod, Liara shouted out, "Everyone in! Go! Go! Go!" Dr. Chakwas and other crew members sat in the seats at the rear as their training had instructed them, so as to make room for others as they came in. Liara saw one last crew member trying to reach the entrance of the pod before another explosion rang out and caught her. _

_Forcing herself to tear away from the dying scream, Liara jumped into the pod and sealed the door. As she felt the pod rumble, preparing to eject them out of the Normandy, tears ran down her face as she prayed to the goddess that John would be safe, that he wouldn't go down with the ship. _

Liara's eyes opened frantically as she shot up from the bed, and the slowly like the water leaking from a closed tap, the reality sank in. The man she loved, her bondmate, was gone. **He was gone!** Slowly, she curled into ball, inhaling his scent from the pillow and her eyes began to water up.

**~0~**

At the Bekenstein spaceport, Jason waited patiently for the ship to Illium to arrive. The hood of his coat hid his face to world yet revealed all to him, as he saw people walking lackadaisically onto their business, so blissfully ignorant of the bleak dark future ahead.

**Please Read & Review. PLEASE!**


	3. Deal With The Devil

**Here is the next chapter, I haven't abandoned anything so all you readers can stop worrying. I've ran into some minor problems in HP and the Veela but I have it all figured out. Just some minor details I wish to revise and improve before submitting. I've played the Citadel DLC and it was…good. Not what I'd expected but it was good. I had to change some things around due to Jason.**

**I need more reviews, if I'm not doing something correctly, I know what I'm doing wrong so I can improve. I count only 7 reviews for two chapters. I must say that is a bit pitiful so please review. I want to increase the reviews I get for some of the stories I have written to a level where I think are acceptable. I won't upload any other stories till the reviews for this one increase.**

**~0~**

**Chapter 2: Deal with the Devil**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium, Nos Astra, Commercial Spaceport**_

Illium was a planet filled with deceit and corruption in contrast to its sleek and beautiful appearance. It lies on the fringes of Citadel space, right on the border to the Terminus Systems. Like any planet in the Terminus, everything but violent crime to an extent was considered legal. As the shuttle spacecraft landed onto the docks of Nos Astra, the illuminating and busy capital, a lean and tall man deftly placed the hood of his long coat over his head.

Exiting the shuttle, Jason Shepard finally had the chance to get a first close look at Illium. Looking around, one could easily identify Nos Astra housed only the galaxy's richest, most powerful individuals. A glorious sanctuary on the outside, though behind its façade, Jason knew Illium was as deadly as Omega with the difference of the former being dolled up.

Navigating the beautifully designed hallways, the Alliance lone wolf made his way past the reception lounge where an Asari receptionist was talking with an earpiece about docking fees and procedures. He activated his Omni-tool and uploaded a map of his surroundings. He quickly spotted the location of the Eternity Bar mentioned from his unknown contact.

Alert and vigilant, he made his way easily past the numerous stalls, stock exchange monitors and the large crowds that surrounded them. He saw a sign that was written: _Eternity_. As the sleekly designed electronic door opened as soon as he walked close enough, Jason began surveying everything before him as he walked in. He had no idea who or what this contact was.

Due to it being daytime, there weren't exactly a lot of customers to start with. He saw an Asari dancer dancing on a table where a group of Turians was sitting. Turning his head, he saw a group of humans dressed in docking uniforms laughing and drinking their drinks as he made his way to the bar where an Asari was bartending a Drell dressed in a dark fitting leather outfit.

Jason carefully noted as he sat down on a stool that the Drell was monitoring him, similar to the way he was surveying him. Judging by the posture of the Drell and his meticulousness, Jason concluded that he was no simpleton.

"Must be a highly trained merc." Jason noted on the back of his head.

"So, Mr. Mysterious…what can I get you hon?" The Asari asked as she approached his end of the counter. Jason noted the Asari bartender's voice was considerably low.

"Seeing that it's only daytime, Club Soda please." Jason replied with a slight smile.

"I'll have the same." An indifferent, feminine tone suddenly spoke out next to him. The Asari acknowledged it and returned Jason's friendly smile before going about making his drink with elegance and grace. Jason immediately brought his guard up as the gears in his mind began cranking and his body was alert.

"Well here I am…" Jason started sarcastically as he smiled his thanks to the Asari bartender as his drink was placed in front of him. "What now?"

Turning his head, Jason was met with a determined gaze by one of the most beautiful women he'd ever set his sights on. Creamy, white smooth skin, cherry red lips, a flawless, actress like face, ice cold blue eyes and long dark brown hair. She was wearing a black and white catsuit, which accentuated her womanly assets to perfection.

"I could start by informing you who I work for or you can tell me, how does a graduate of the prestigious Harvard University end up working in the military?" The gorgeous woman next to him asked.

"Hmmph, Don't you already have all that information?" Jason replied nonchalantly.

"Fine, I'll humor you on this one." He turned to face the femme fatale. "I wanted to make a difference and I felt that fighting was the best way to achieve it." He stared unflinchingly at the woman next to him, who'd stare back.

"So, who are you playing messenger for?" Jason asked as he took another sip of his drink.

"My name is Miranda Lawson and I work for an organization called Cerberus." Miranda stated with a cold gaze and Jason tensed. Experimentations with thresher maws immediately came up in his mind amongst other horrors as he heard the name of the pro-Human organization.

"Despite what you think of Cerberus, we are not your enemy here and we don't want to be." Miranda said softly as she leaned closer to Jason, who, if was concerned about his private space being invaded, gave no indication.

Her words brought back the images of Saren, Sovereign and the human husks on Eden Prime. An old ideal immediately came to his mind, "The lesser of two evils." Jason was inwardly, a mess, Cerberus was an enemy of the Alliance and the Citadel Council, it was true that he was no longer with the Alliance so he technically cannot be named a traitor but could he really sell his soul? And go back behind his beliefs? What would his parents and John think when they found out?

But on the other hand, nobody was willing to do anything and no doubt the Citadel council and Systems Alliance will no doubt dismiss the threat and do nothing. It was to this thought that he responded, "I offer my allegiance because there's no alternative and I care only about one thing, can it be done?"

The woman's blue eyes narrowed as she stared back as if she had been slapped, and activating her Omni-tool, she then sent him the details.

His eyes widened but only momentarily as renewed faith and hope filled him, looking up at the brunette he smirked. "I'm all yours, take me to your boss."

Finishing their drinks and leaving an appropriate amount of credits on the counter, as well as a generous tip, Miranda led Jason out of the bar.

As she did so, Miranda surveying the newest recruit as they walked towards the docks, it could have been a lot more difficult to persuade the skilled infiltrator and from her observations, he seemed to be unmoved by her beauty and seducing attempts, which has never failed before and she had mixed emotions regarding to it. As they neared a private dock, there was a Cerberus Kodiak shuttle waiting for the duo.

"For reasons unknown to me, the Illusive Man has decided that he wants to meet you face to face." Miranda said as they approached the shuttle.

"Let me guess, this is the part where you're going to make a threat and then proceeding, you're going to blindfold me and drug me?" Jason tilted his head while in his right hand was placed on the M-5 Phalanx pistol that was in it's holster.

"Not exactly. Certain precautionary measures will be taken due to your background. Your reaction to our organization was still an unknown factor then. You combat skills and biotics make you an impressive foe but even you can't defeat an entire army by yourself." Miranda stared back at him and smiled frostily though inwardly she was impressed. The man never stopped observing and adapting though she deducted that he had to due to his preference of working alone.

The Illusive Man had commanded her to win his trust over gently and that included not incapacitating him in times such as this, despite the significant difficulty in such a task, failure was certainly not an option and Miranda was determined to get this man over to Cerberus' side. She smirked and walking to the shuttle and boarded it.

Jason, with narrowed eyes, followed suit. Strapping himself to a seat, flanked by two fully armored Cerberus soldiers, both outfitted with M-96 Mattock riffles who gave him no acknowledgement, Jason merely stared at Miranda who gave the pilot instructions through a comm. before turning back and meeting Jason's gaze. Silence filled the interior of the shuttle as Jason merely turned his gaze outside.

There was certainly no turning back now. His fate was sealed.

**~0~**

_**Location: Serpent Nebula, Boltzmann System, Bekenstein, Shepard Residence**_

Hannah Shepard massaged her temples as she sighed, Jason's note in her hands. Normally calm, she panicked when she woke up to a letter on her bedside table and her son was missing. She had received a video call earlier from Admiral Hackett and the man was furious at the resignation note that was handed to him.

_"Hannah! Just what the hell is going on?!" Wasting no time, Hackett thundered as Hannah accepted the call and a holo image of the Admiral appeared. _

_"What's the matter?" Hannah asked, confused. _

_"Your son has resigned from the Systems Alliance! That's the matter!" Hackett answered furiously. Hannah was wide eyed as she listened on, this wasn't mentioned in his letter to her. _

_"I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for this." She defended her son, though Hackett was on a rampage. _

_"Reasonable?! Need I remind you of the casualty inflicted on us when Sovereign and the Geth attacked the Citadel?" _

_Hannah bit her lip, but forcefully swallowed an insult as she grounded out, "No sir." _

_"Then he should know that the Alliance needs one of its best soldier, now more than ever as we rebuild. Not gallivanting around." Hackett pressed on. _

_"Sir, Steven…we're still in mourning. Please…I'm sure he'll come around soon." Hannah replied softly and Hackett's gaze softened as he cleared his throat uncomfortably. _

_"My…apologies, for intruding…but my point remains, I am not accepting his resignation." Hackett emphasized his point as he gave a brisk nod before disconnecting._

Jason was just like his father and her husband, Ben. Always wanting to do everything on his own because he didn't want to drag anyone down with him. Both Hannah and Ben came from a military background thus their parents had encourage them and not discourage when they started to date. This had brought back a lot of memories, which she longed to not reminisce, as they brought nothing but pain, and sadness.

Slowly, she reached for a silver framed photo sitting next to her, on a sofa side table and stared deeply into the picture encased within, it was one of John and Jason with their young sister Jennifer. All of them looked so happy. Tears began dripping down her hard, weathered face as Hannah held the photo close to her chest.

**~0~**

_**Location: Horsehead Nebula, Anadius System, Cronos Station**_

Jason's calm demeanor remained unchanged as he caught glimpses of the enormous burning star. It was shining brightly as it was violently, a magnificent sight and wonder. His blue eyes narrowed as a sleek and vertically prolonged structure came into view.

"Nice hideout you've got here, very remote and Anadius' an added dramatic bonus." Jason smirked as the shuttle slowly approached the structure.

Miranda merely stared back coldly at him as her eyes narrowed at his unsubtle insult. As the shuttle finally came to a full stop, and into a spacious hanger, Jason never lost his smirk. He knew that no harm would come to him, though it was not spoken, but Cerberus needed him on their side.

As he disembarked the shuttle, the barrels of numerous Mattock riffles greeted Jason as his welcoming escort arrived.

"This is nothing personal, just security and protection." Miranda informed him, which caused him to smile slightly.

"Twenty soldiers against me…I'm honored. I gave you my word, didn't I?" Jason smirked, crossing his arms.

"Unfortunately, people can change rather easily," Miranda stared straight into his eyes, "Now relinquish your weapons…they will be returned to you after your meeting with the Illusive Man."

Not seeing a alternative choice, Jason slowly raised a gloved hand and drew his Black Widow from his shoulder and handed it to a fully armored Cerberus soldier, next was his M-5 Phalanx pistol from his waist holster. And finally his grandfather's combat knife that was attached to the side of his right boot, with that gone, a soldier brought a small scanner and after it was clear that he was clean, Miranda motioned for Jason to follow her, with the armed Cerberus soldiers slightly behind them.

"One move…" Miranda warned the man next to him who merely remained emotionless.

"Relax. I have no intention of trying anything and besides, we need each other." He replied tersely and flipped his hood back, smiling slyly as they entered an elevator once leaving through a door and leaving the docks behind. From what little information he could gather, Jason could infer that the station was very much like a labyrinth and if not careful, getting lost would be easy. Jason noted that his armed escort didn't follow in.

"There will be another group escorting us to the Illusive Man's office once we get off the elevator." Miranda responded his unanswered question as the elevator slowly ascends.

"So, while we're waiting here, I might as well get to know you better, how did you turn out to work for Cerberus?" Jason asked while leaning towards one side of the elevator wall.

Smirking, Miranda turned around, "Why the sudden interest?"

Jason raised an eyebrow in response, "Well, no doubt you have every bit of my life memorized to the tiniest details. I figured it'd be only fair."

"Quite perceptive of you. Fair enough, the Illusive Man saw my potential and I was recruited by Cerberus at a very young age, in addition I've had extensive genetic modification." She answered and Jason could barely, just barely notice that there was a bitter difference in the tone of her voice not that he was surprised, everyone's got something to hide.

"I'm surprised Cerberus is recruiting children now, they seem even more desperate than I had previously thought." Jason thought, leaning back as the elevator came to a stop.

"If you don't mind me probing, what sort of modifications?" He asked, intrigued. People who can afford it, could undergo genetic modifications to improve themselves. Eyes sight correction, removal of genetic defects, increased health were basics. He himself, had far superior eyesight to any human due to his profession and his biotic implants were uniquely designed for him.

"It's very in-depth, in the physical sense, I'm superior in many ways. I heal quickly and very likely, I'll live half again as long as the average human. My biotics are also very advanced…" Miranda demonstrated as her gloved palm glowed blue before it evaporated. "And much like yourself, with some of the best training and education money can buy…" She finished. Silence filled the elevator as Jason digested what was said.

"Well, you certainly are blunt about it." He stated blandly, meeting Miranda's blue eyes with his own.

"It's merely a fact. Every thing about me was designed to give me an edge. From my looks to my strength, no point in not accepting it." She responded and placed a hand on her hip. Jason merely nodded with acknowledgement before turning his head away. Miranda's eyes narrowed, no, Jason Shepard certainly wasn't your average brawler. Few could resist her charms or the temptation to check her out, his ability to focus was certainly impressive.

"So tell me, is Cerberus military or political?" The sniper asked out of the blue.

"Cerberus has numerous divisions: political, military and scientific but there is only one purpose. Not all Cerberus operations use the same protocols. Bureaucracy or formality is something we wish to avoid." The beautiful operative explained.

"And that purpose?" Jason asked as they stepped out of the elevator and heavily armored soldiers greeted them.

"The advancement of the human race, it's that simple." Miranda simply replied.

"I know Cerberus is in fact, the Black Ops of the Alliance. So who do you answer to?" Jason asked as the walked down the corridor.

"Though I am slightly impressed at your knowledge regarding to us, we answer to no one. It has been a long time since we have split from the Alliance. We are privately funded and our backers trust the Illusive Man to make the right choices to make the right decisions," came the simple answer, "But he's very clear about our goals, to protect humanity and serve its advancement."

Jason merely inclined his head as he processed the information given to him, he didn't trust the Illusive Man at all, that was absolutely too much power for one man.

Though he didn't voice his thought, Miranda seemed to know what was going in his mind as she added, "He's no saint and he'll be the first to admit it but he's committed. Humanity couldn't have asked for a better advocate…"

As they went past a door and took a right turn, Jason saw numerous holo terminals before he continued following Miranda. Stopping in front of a door, the door slid open and Miranda turned to face Jason. "

Well, we're here, just walk straight and you'll be in the Illusive Man's office." She said and gave him a warning stare.

"Thank you for making it all interesting and being honest of things." Jason commented and stuck out a hand.

Miranda was wide eyed for barely one second before she shook his hand with the slightest of smiles.

The corridor was dark as Jason proceeded alone ahead. He wasn't at the least surprised as he saw turrets and heavily armored soldiers standing on either side of the already narrow path. Walking past them with a controlled and blank face, the door opened before him.

Slowly, instinctively, he walked into the dark office. Jason noticed that the office gave a clear and beautiful view of the burning star in the system, the red and blue glowed, fighting to be in control. Tearing his eyes away from the star, he noticed a lone figure sitting inside the office, his chair facing the star.

As Jason approached cautiously, he could see the figure was dressed in a suit, probably designer and very expensive. He could smell cigarette smoke as he got a little closer as well as spotting the neat silver hair that dominated the head of the Cerberus leader.

"Mr. Jason Shepard." The Illusive Man greeted simply as he stood up from his chair and turned to face his 'guest.' It was only then that Jason noticed that the Illusive Man had strange glowing patterns within his unnatural blue eyes.

"Implants?" Jason thought.

"Illusive Man." Jason mirrored. Taking a drag from his cigarette that was in his right hand and exhaling.

"I see that you have made your decision."

"I have, and let me make it clear that I don't approve of some of the things your Organization has condone in the past…" The Illusive Man showed no visible emotion and Jason continued, "but if no one is willing to do anything regarding to the Reapers but Cerberus, I'll help you…That's all there is to it."

The Illusive Man picked up a glass filled with a liquor Jason couldn't identify and took a sip, followed by a drag of his cigarette.

"I don't expect any less than that and I would like to let you know that I respect your morals and opinions…we're both on the same side here." The Illusive Man finished his drink and sat the glass down.

"Time will tell...so, its really possible. You can bring people back from the dead? I've seen the details regarding to Project Lazarus on the way here." Jason enquired.

Taking a drag of his cigarette, the Illusive Man merely stared back at him, surveying him and analyzing him.

"With money, anything is possible…and while you're here, your first mission." The Illusive Man tapped a holographic monitor near him and Jason's Omni-tool glowed.

"Preparations are already ready for Shepard, the only thing we need to get started is his body. I'll need you and Miranda to head to the planet Alchera in the Amada System. My sources have pinpointed the approximate location of Shepard's body. I'll need a recovery team to extract it. Miranda has more details regarding to the operation." The Illusive Man told his newest agent before he set back onto his chair like it was a throne and began analyzing the holographic monitors before him.

Jason, seeing that he was dismissed, began to retreat his steps and walk out of the dark office. Slowly, Jason walked out of the room and forward the narrow path. Entering the spacious hallway, he spotted Miranda tapping on a monitor.

"You made the right decision…" Miranda looked up and caught his gaze.

"We'll see. Don't get me wrong, I don't entirely trust Cerberus just yet." Jason dug his black-gloved hands into his coat pockets, "But I'll play along for now." He finished.

"We aren't as evil as you think. Give us a chance and maybe you'll change your mind…" Miranda responded with an delicate eyebrow raised, to which Jason replied with a nonchalant stare.

"I assume that you have been briefed as well?" Jason asked, breaking their staring contest, to which he received a pointed nod.

"When are we leaving?"

"As soon as possible, once we get you outfitted, and past a simple training simulation." Miranda finished tapping on the monitor and beckoned Jason to follow her.

"I thought life was non-existent on Alchera." Jason asked as he pulled out data of the cold planet on his Omni-tool.

"No, but remember what it is that we're retrieving," Miranda retorted, "We have received information that the Blue Suns are going after Shepard's body as well."

"Blue Suns? Aren't they a Terminus system criminal gang? Why are they going after my brother's body?" Jason asked as they walked into a series of corridors and turns.

"It turns out that they were sent by the Shadow Broker. Someone that wants to retrieve Shepard's body apparently contacted the broker. We received confirmation on that theory already." Miranda said as they neared a sleek, see through glass door and it opened.

"Then let's suit up, there's no time to waste." Jason stated with crossed arms.

"Ah, Operative Lawson and Agent Shepard! How good it is to see you." A middle-aged man in a lab coat greeted them in a room filled with weapons of all sorts, from pistols to assault riffles and suits of different armor on the wall; as for the man, he had a head of graying hair and thick lenses that magnified his dark eyes. Jason detected the slightest trace of Russian or Eastern European in this man's accent.

"Dr. Ivanov, likewise. I believe you have something for us?" Miranda replied courteously.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do!" the Doctor turned to Jason, "It is such a great honor, to finally meet you face to face."

Dr. Ivanov stuck out his hand to Jason, who reluctantly shook it.

"So, the Illusive Man said that he had new armor for me?" Jason asked, running his hand over his hair.

"Yes! Yes! We have been working and testing it for some time now." Dr. Ivanov grabbed a device from a messy table and pressed a button. And slowly, a long sealed capsule between a heavily plated Cerberus armor and a full body red armor slowly moved forward, causing the two sets of armor on either side of it to move to the back row. With a hiss, the seals opened and Jason's eyes became wide.

"I present to you, the Cerberus Nightmare Armor." Dr. Ivanov said in a voice laced with pride. The color of the armor was a metallic black and sleek in design, opting for speed and agility over brute strength, a perfect fit to his infiltrator rank.

"I have to say that the design is beautiful but what advancements have you made that set this suit from the others?" Jason asked slowly, after he had quickly gotten over his initial shock.

"Clever boy. This here is only a Mark IV version; we're currently developing a Mark V and Mark VI, which you will be the first to try once we're done with the tests due to the boss' command. Though this is the only custom suit we have built so far due to you being a biotic as well. A significant hurdle I might add." Dr. Ivanov gushed with excitement, causing Miranda to raise a brow. She turned to Jason and found him enraptured to the details Ivanov was sprouting.

"Men…" She rolled her eyes.

"The one you'll be wearing is outfitted with repulsors weapons system on both hands on the palms, don't worry about targeting sequence, you have a beautiful, magnificent target enhancement software in you helmet that will do that for you. We have also made it so that you may use thermal clips, the capacitors will deliver a powerful punch and the circulating coolant in the gloves allows for more shots before a given thermal clip overheats. There are also repulsors on the feet for propulsion for long as well as short distance flight. Also in multiple opponent combat situations, the armor also boasts a pair of lasers that could cut through about anything with the slightest contact. Though please do not use it for long spans of time as it will overheat the system. Lastly it has a cloaking system, the newest developed. Exquisite." Ivanov pointed out as he pointed to the handplates of the armor and in great detail, explained the rest of the armor's capabilities.

"That's all and well, what does it run on? An armor as sophisticated as this must have an incredible large power source." Jason asked as he surveyed the armor.

"The first three models all ran on a palladium but the Mark IV is the first to run on Palladium and Element Zero." Dr. Ivanov responded.

"So," Dr. Ivanov clapped his hands and rubbed them gleefully, "Shall we give it a try, Agent Shepard?"

And soon after, Jason took off his coat and was strapped into his new armor by a team of scientists.

"What's next?" Jason asked as he examined both of his palms. He soon got his answer as he, Miranda and Dr. Ivanov arrived at the experimenting arena. The entire arena was a white color as lights illuminated the arena from the ceiling high above. Miranda and Dr. Ivanov watched on as Jason was pitted against thirty LOKI mechs.

"Show time." Jason raised his palms and shot a repulsor beam at the mech, causing it to explode upon impact. He gracefully somersaulted, leapt and dodged as the mechs fired on him and he retaliated by firing the repulsors beams back on both palms.

He dodged sideways and raising his left hand, he launched the small rockets from his wristrocket launcher attached to the side of the gauntlet, destroying five mechs. The fight outcome was obvious as Jason tested the various arsenal he had at hand. Decapitating the heads of some mechs with his laser weapons system, manually punching through them, using his palm repulsor launcher.

Miranda was impressed at the martial arts displayed by Jason Shepard, the way he moved, was like that of a dancer. When the last LOKI mech was dealt with, a repulsor kick to the head, Jason's faceplate slid up, revealing his face.

"Are we done?" Suddenly he could feel the ground shaking.

"Hold on Agent Shepard, just three more to go!" Dr. Ivanov spoke from the speakers. Turning around, Jason found himself facing three YMIR Mechs. The YMIR Mech was way bigger than the LOKI, clad in bone white armor with red lights. Heavily armored and shielded, they possessed twin automatic mass accelerator cannons concealed in the right arm and a rocket launcher on the left.

"Fuck." Jason cursed as his faceplate slid back over his face. Jason knew that YMIR Mechs were slow and lumbering, as they've sacrificed speed for more power and armor. There was virtually nothing in the training room to take cover from as the three mechs fired with their automatic mass accelerator cannons.

Propelling into the air, Jason found what he was looking for as he switched to the anti-armor missiles housed on both of his shoulder pods. Flying and twisting in the air, dodging the YMIR Mechs' rain of fire and rockets as he flew straight at them, he locked onto the mech's joints with the targeting system as he looked through his faceplate and released his anti-armor rockets and watched as they homed into their intended targets. Luckily for him, his aim was true and straight.

As he descended to the ground on one knee, the sounds of the mechs violently exploding rang behind him. Removing his helmet as he deactivated the neck seals, Jason turned his head around and surveyed the smoldering remains.

Though he disliked Cerberus, their technology was certainly fascinating and impressive.

"So…what do you think, Operative Lawson? Is it to your standards?" Ivanov asked while his team entered the arena beneath them and began surveying Jason.

"Yes." Miranda replied simply and left the observatory.

"Now that's all done, come on, our ship's waiting for us." Miranda informed Jason, who merely raised an eyebrow in response. Entering an elevator, they descended down into the docks, a different one than the one they arrived in.

It was much larger, evident with the amount of cruisers it held. Soldiers were rushing all around them as the cruiser was prepared for departure. To his surprise, the Cerberus cruisers were very similar in design compared to Alliance Cruisers. Long has it been a rumor that Cerberus had people high up in the Alliance, so Cerberus getting their hands on Alliance schematics weren't entirely impossible.

He didn't know what to feel as the soldiers gave him and Miranda a wide berth as they walked past them and towards the airlock, which would eventually lead to the cruiser that would take them to Alchera. If the exterior of the cruiser was large, the interior made it more so as Jason and Miranda entered the bridge.

"We'll be in Alchera shortly, get some rest. I'll be in my office on Deck 3 if you need assistance." Miranda informed him and headed off to the lift, leaving the infiltrator alone. He felt a sense of unfamiliarity as he surveyed the large crew, all dressed in Cerberus colors and logo. It wasn't so long ago that he was onboard the Normandy SR-1 with one of the best Alliance crews he had ever served with. They were all at their appropriate stations at the bridge and the CIC.

Resigned to his fate, Jason merely stood behind the pilots at the cockpits as he surveyed the glowing, radiant star that was Anadius, swirls of blue amongst swirls of red, getting farther and farther each second.

* * *

***Encrypted***

**_Dossier: Jason Shepard_**

_After extending an invitation to the Hero of Torfan, Jason Shepard appeared on Illium as predicted_

_It is unclear whether his allegiances have completely changed. The imminent resurrection of John Shepard will likely change that perspective._

_Regardless, Jason Shepard will become a huge asset for Cerberus._

**And I'll stop here. I NEED reviews, so please. I like Mass Effect and I want to write a good regarding to it. The next chapter will have Shepard return from the dead. **


	4. Identity

**Okay, this is really pathetic, I'm getting story followers but no way am I getting the comments I need to improve my story in anyway whatsoever. I need to know why I'm getting such low reviews on this story as opposed to Harry Potter. I feel most people just disregard the author's notice whenever I post them. I am not joking, if there aren't enough reviews, I might as well put this fict in the very back of the list of ficts I plan to update.**

Chapter 4: Identity

**~0~**

"_You two can be my shining knights in armor!" A little girl chirped happily as her long, vibrant red hair was softly blown by the gentle, sea winds._

"_Move out of the way DaVinci, because Jennifer Shepard's in town!" His little sister dimpled cutely as she held her brother's hand as she revealed her art project, a large detailed painting of her and her two brothers. "Happy Birthday!" The small, red haired girl looked up and told his brother, who could only smile in response. "It looks amazing, Jenny…thank you, I love it."_

"_Yes, I'll go to the dance with you." A young pretty yet shy girl with dark brown hair and green eyes replied demurely, milky pale cheeks slightly pink and the boy who had asked her smiled widely before giving the sky a punch and dancing away._

"_What's important is how you view yourself…not how others do." A man with thin lenses dressed in a lavender shirt and dark pants said as he ruffled his youngest son's dark chestnut hair. _

"_Some more over THERE!" A voice yelled out through the distressed cries of children and mothers as explosions, and the sound of bullets followed suit. An ordinary family by all means ran into the woods….A giant explosion ranged loudly as two boys yelled out with surprise as they were tossed violently down a steep hill._

_His knees were shaking as his eyes were wide with terror, a pale bloody hand with a silver ring followed by the sleeve of a familiar long lavender shirt that stuck out of a covered white sheet laid in front of him. A cry of agony left him as he sank to the ground. _

"_You said military life-style isn't for you." A concerned mother said as her son vented his helplessness and despair._

"_Just like your father…stubborn asses." The mother pulled her child into her arms. _

"_Lieutenant! We need more cover fire!" Distant sounds of a trigger being pulled and bullets being shot out of a long thin barrel echoed loudly. _

"_Why did you decline?" Two men were walking away from the audience chambers of Citadel Council and into an elevator. "Because I don't want to become a scapegoat if this whole Human Spectre thing goes south…and those councilors are morons." The leaner and younger man replied. _

"_This isn't over just yet…they're still somewhere out there…and we'll finish them off, together? Right, little brother?" Two brothers gazed at the artificial sunset on the railings on a Presidium bar, and the sound of glass tapping against each other rang before the sounds of light laughter followed suit._

"_He's gone son…there were no survivors…I'm sorry." A man in a blue Admiral uniform squeezed the shoulders of a shocked man._

"_If you could save a person's life, even if the odds of success is low and different, morally grey methods have to be taken to do so…would you still do it?" A son's bitter farewell to his grief-stricken mother as he walked from the one place he could still call sanctuary._

"_I see that you have made your decision." Bright, unnatural, calculating, unsympathetic, devilish eyes stared blankly ahead, piercing through his entire being._

Jason opened his eyes as he returned from his realm of dreams as the song _'Blue Ocean Floor'_ was playing softly through his earphones. He suddenly felt something wet materializing his eyes, pulling his earphones off and pausing his little sister's iPod, his most treasured belonging which he always had on him, he noticed Miranda standing a few feet in front of him, giving him a curious look. Or what he interpreted it to be a curious look. Mentally steeling himself, he walked up to his partner, who'd never stop glancing at him.

"So, I suppose we're at Alchera's orbit?" He asked.

"Yes, a shuttle is being prepared for Shepard's extraction on the surface as we speak." Miranda replied. She had walked into the CIC after a short break, mainly writing reports for the Illusive Man regarding to their progress and any suspicious behavior of Jason Shepard.

Jason Shepard, she had seen him doodle with that pinkish purple colored music player of his shortly as she sat down in her office and began keeping an eye on the newest recruit, it must have meant a lot to him. Although it was unnoticeable to most people, hidden behind his courteous and cold façade she could see, feel his sorrow as she watched him lean back on a pillar on the CIC deck.

It wasn't until she dug into his records and the Shepard family did she discover that he had a younger sister once, named Jennifer, who was one of the numerous casualties on the Batarian raids on Mindoir. She was only ten years old when the tragedy happened. It was a miracle that he was still in working order although the psych evaluations given to Jason Shepard revealed that he was distant, cold and didn't 'play' well with others.

However, he was an excellent soldier who could complete anything and coming from two prestigious military families, so it was ignored. After discovering his past as ordered from the Illusive Man, Miranda knew that it was no fault of his and that she admired his strength, she didn't know if she could handle it if something similar was to happen to her.

"No, don't be ridiculous…Oriana is safe." Miranda mentally chastised herself. The trip down to the hangar of the cruiser was entirely filled with silence as Jason and Miranda were both in their own worlds. As the elevator halted and the doors slid opened. Jason could already see soldiers lined up and ready, and opening his personal locker, donned on his customized Nightmare Armor. With his helm in his grasp, he walked to the shuttles, where Miranda was already waiting.

She was wearing a suit of armor similar to his, the only difference was the color. Whereas his was black, hers was metallic silver and it hugged tightly to her body and brought out her figure with the same seducing effect her cat suit did. In her hand was a helmet with four menacing red eyes.

Wordlessly, he brushed past her and entered the Cerberus UT-47 Kodiak Drop Shuttle. Miranda followed suit and taking a seat next to her fellow operative and strapping herself in, the shuttle steadily departed the cruiser's hanger bay. Silence was all there was as Jason mentally relaxed himself for the task ahead.

"ETA, five minutes. Prepare for atmospheric entry." The intercom ringed.

Jason reached for his helmet on the seat beside him and secured it tightly over his head. The visuals systems immediately came online within his helmet and after zooming in and out and scanning everything around him, Jason went to check his weapons systems. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Miranda pulled her helmet and the four red eyes glowed brightly. He'd also noticed that she had twin submachine guns on her hip in addition to the pulse cannons situated on her gloves but stayed silent.

In no time, Jason spotted the remains of the Normandy SR-1 just below them. As the Kodiak made a smooth landing, Jason peered out of the windows and stared.

The ship was littered amongst the surface of the planet for miles. Alchera, as he researched, was a lifeless, cold and barren wasteland, freezing and leaving the wreckage to be forever frozen in time. He could feel Miranda's sympathetic stare but paid no heed as the shuttle finally landed.

A large flat piece of ice surrounded by the ship that had housed many cherished memories. Snow was lightly falling outside.

The doors to the shuttle opened with a hiss and the Cerberus soldiers moved out in a protective formation as Jason and Miranda followed suit, the shuttle doors sealed behind them. The ice crunched under his foot as Jason stepped away from the Kodiak to look around. Looking up he could see the beautiful, mystical aurora lights in the sky. A light wind breezed into the frozen valley, accompanying it were the whispers among the dead silence around the inhabitable environment.

"If you are done paying your respect, we have an urgent task at hand." Miranda's face appeared on the side of his HUD screen, there was no trace of insincerity or impatience as she merely stared softly at him.

"I'm done." Jason replied simply and walked towards a slender, silver armored figure, ignoring the creaking metal of the wreckage. As he walked further through the frozen wasteland, he could see that pieces of the once proud Normandy littered everywhere. Some pieces bigger than others, layers of snow slowly began covering them and ice had started forming at the bottom.

Spotting a faint glint on the ground, Jason spotted a set of dog tags. He reached out a gloved hand but a subtle voice at the back of his head whispered, "You're no longer part of the Alliance…let the dead rest in peace."

With that thought he proceeded on with the rest of his squadron. As he walked amongst the pile of debris, the Cerberus soldiers in an alerted protective formation, he could barely recognize the bridge and cockpit, where 'Joker' or Jeff Moreau, could usually be found, maneuvering the Normandy SR-1 with pinpoint precision and excellent skills. Jason would never find out how he could navigate the Normandy in a position so that the Mako tank almost dropped right on top of Saren Arterius.

The Mako, speaking of which, was halfway encased in ice now, it would often sit in the hangar of the Normandy until it was needed. Jason wasn't quite fond of the memories that he had with the Mako, due to his older brother's reckless and unsavory driving skills, which often made him feel like regurgitating the contents of his stomach each time they deployed it. Though, it did bring a barely noticeable smile to the edge of his lips as the memories came to him.

Next he saw the Command Information Center. It was completely shattered, but he could instinctively see where the galaxy map was once located. It was nothing but twisted metal now. Turning his head right, he saw crew deck, specifically, the sleeping pods were resting on top of an icy outcropping.

"Sir, we've got heat signatures!" A Cerberus soldier, a Centurion class informed him and immediately everyone had their weapons ready. Miranda had both of her submachine guns ready in her hand. Rounding from behind a block of ice, Jason's eyes narrowed as he saw a large groups of mercenaries with blue armor and white trim.

"Get to high ground asap, change into your sniper rifles and wait for my signal." He ordered through his comm. and to his surprise, the Centurion soldier nodded and signaled the rest of the squad of Cerberus soldiers to get to higher-level ground. With their white armor and the snow, it was perfect.

"Stealth." Miranda appeared on his HUD, it wasn't a question.

"I assume you have a tactical cloak as well?" He asked. Miranda responded by activating her cloaking device, blending in seamlessly with the environment. Activating his own tactical cloak, and seeing Miranda's signature on his HUD map, they crept closer to the group of Blue Suns Mercenaries. There were some Kodiak Shuttles nearby as well.

"What'd you reckon the boss will do with the body?" A human mercenary asked his companion.

"Who cares what he'll do. I can't wait to get my share of the bounty." The other human responded.

"Lazurus team in position. Ready to fire on command." A voice echoed in his comm.

"Engage the enemy." It was as Jason expected as the mercenaries were gunned down like sitting ducks as his team of Cerberus soldiers easily picked them off with their sniper rifles. Putting more pace in his steps, he and Miranda materialized into the air and raising a gloved hand, shot a beam of pure energy at an unfortunate mercenary, who was too stunned to comprehend what was happening.

Meanwhile, Miranda gracefully flipped into the air before firing both of her submachine guns. Agilely dodging a rocket shot towards him, Jason raised his left palm and released the armor piercing rockets on his arm mounted wristrocket launcher.

Turning his body around, he bent his knees ducking an oncoming Merc who was wielding a Omni-blade and responded by shooting the Merc in the face with a repulsor beam.

Sweeping a Batarian mercenary off his feet with a low kick, Miranda simply ended his life with a shot between the eyes. In the background, Lazarus team was simply picking out the stragglers.

"Retreat, we got what we wanted, retreat!" The lead mercenary suddenly bellowed.

"They're taking off with Shepard's body!" Miranda shouted as she flipped sideways and unleashed a powerful warp at her target.

Seconds later, the Kodiak shuttles began taking off, leaving the mercenaries who were still groundside to their fates. In response, Jason bent his knees and shot into the air after the shuttles.

As he flew, he aimed his wrist rocket launched at the engines of the shuttles and locked onto them.

"Which one do I hit?!" He called out to Miranda, who appeared on his HUD.

"The one closest to you!" Miranda responded.

"You sure?!" Jason shouted but received no response, he could only watch as the rockets left his rocket launcher and went straight home. The fleeing Kodiak spun out of the air as it lost its engines and spiraled down into the ground.

Thankfully, due to the snow, it provided a perfect cushion as the shuttle crashed, sending snow everywhere. "

Lazarus team, on me. Sending coordinates." Jason commanded as he descended onto the snow with a thud, one palm to the ground.

Looking up, Jason stood up and walked cautiously to the downed shuttle. Using the laser weapons on his right wrist, he sliced the shuttle doors apart and manually wrenched them apart. He breathed out with relief to see a long rectangular container with a white cloth that covered it.

Wrenching the door to the pilot's cockpit, he saw that both mercenaries were knocked out. While he did feel pulses, the voice on the back of his head told him to cut all loose ends. A quick snap to the neck and it was one out of two.

Turning his head sideways, he saw the other mercenary, awake, had a face of horror as Jason approached him.

"Please…have mercy." He begged.

"Sorry. Nothing personal but no loose ends." Jason responded, enabling his speakers.

"What? What are you…stay away!" The mercenary cried out as he struggled to extract himself from his straps.

Jason paused momentarily, what was he? Was he still Jason Shepard? Could he still be Jason Shepard? What was he? The mercenary had pulled out a pistol on the black armored figure but before he could squeeze a shot, Jason recovered and fired a shot from his palm cannon, effectively killing the pilot.

As the rest of Lazarus team arrived and secured the crash site, Jason stepped out of the cockpit of the downed shuttle and giving the rectangular container a final glance, left the cabin of the shuttle and returned back to the frozen surface.

He watched with crossed arms as Miranda went inside the shuttle cabin and after a minute, she walked out and signaled the Lazarus squad to get the body back to their shuttles and prepare for departure.

"Are you alright?" Miranda asked after detaching her helmet when they were soon alone in the cabin of the UT-47 Cerberus shuttle.

Though his helmet concealed his face entirely, and that his body language gave nothing away, something about his stance brought her to ask.

"I'm fine." He replied stoically through his speakers and leaned forward, resting his chin with his arms clasped together in a prayer like fashion as Alchera and the wreckage of the Normandy SR-1 were left behind.

_No loose ends_, those three words had remained in his head for longer than he had wanted. To fight evil, one must know evil. Was this his fate? To give up the one last connection he had to his previous life? Jason Shepard was the Hero of Torfan, and one of the Alliance's best ever produced soldiers. But that no longer applied here and now, everything that made him up was stripped apart.

So what does it leave? What did he have left? There were no answers, but only more questions that surfaced at the as the Cerberus shuttle docked on the Cerberus Cruiser hanger bay. The black armored figure stepped out of the shuttle, as he did so, Miranda voice caused him to pause.

"The Illusive Man would like to talk to you, head up to Deck 2, you'll find the comm. room behind the CIC…" She said as she stood up.

Without responding nor turning around, Jason stepped out of the shuttle and headed straight for the lifts, not bothering to remove his armor as he did so. Arriving at the CIC, where the crew were busy at their stations, he walked away from the traffic and slipped into the door in the back which lead to many rooms.

Pausing before a door that had the label Communications on top, the door opened before him.

_**Location: Horsehead Nebula, Anadius System, Cronos Station**_

A small thin, silver lighter ignited, its flames dancing at the end of a cigarette. His face was illuminated for a brief moment before it was put out, leaving only the glow of his unnatural blue eyes visible in the darkness.

The Illusive Man took a deep breath from his cigarette before addressing his silent armored 'guest.'

"Good work on Alchera. I had every confidence that you would get it done perfectly and you did just that." He informed Jason.

"I'm not doing this for you or Cerberus, I'm doing this for humanity." Jason retorted.

"That's all I ever wanted from you." The Illusive Man took a drag from his cigarette and tapped it into his ashtray. "More importantly, with Shepard recovered, Project Lazarus can finally start. However there is one hurdle that only involves you." Jason merely crossed his arms and waited.

Lifting his cigarette to his lips, the Illusive Man tapped some keys at his console. "Cerberus is divided into numerous independent cells which have no knowledge of their counterparts."

"I work alone." Jason interrupted with an icy tone and glared behind his helmet.

The Illusive Man showed no expression as he merely stared back then he tapped a button on his console. "Very well. You'll be placed in Phantom Cell, but for all intents and purposes, you will be very much alone. Is this acceptable?"

"It is." Jason nodded with acknowledgment.

"Good, one final matter." The Illusive Man stared straight into the projection of the newest addition to Phantom cell.

"You might consider using an alias, though we have eyes and ears in the Alliance, there's no telling that they might eventually find out about your current whereabouts and allegiances." The Illusive Man warned.

_No loose ends_, so it had come down to this. Jason was no stranger when it came to using aliases and being undercover but this was different, he was giving up his life. He could refuse, and later be publically declared as a terrorist and an enemy to the galaxy or reinvent himself, for the greater good of the universe.

Jason Shepard was no longer needed in the galaxy anymore.

"Call me..." Jason steeled his eyes behind the helmet of his Nightmare Armor.

It was only when he arrived in his room, the only room not to be labeled did he unsealed the neck seals that connected his armor and his helmet.

Activating his Omni-tool, he closed his eyes as he began to float around in his room. Finally by himself, he relaxed his body and allowed his mind to wander.

Jason Shepard was dead, taken by the darkness. It was with this thought did he slip into the only sanctuary he had left, his realm of dreams and memories.

***Encrypted***

_**Alchera Mission Summary**_

_Commander Shepard's body has been successfully retrieved._

_Blue Suns Mercenaries present eliminated. Shadow Broker confirmed to have sent them._

_Jason Shepard has displayed capable leadership with Lazarus team. No casualties were inflicted._

_He was highly instrumental throughout the mission; his recruitment is already bearing fruit and would only strengthen Cerberus in the future._

_**Location: Unknown system, Lazarus Research Station**_

True to the Illusive Man's word, the Cerberus Cruiser docked at Lazarus Research Station. After a night of sleep plagued by his memories, he outfitted himself into his armor and left his room. Ignoring the activity in the mess hall and taking the elevator, descending down to the hanger, the dark armored figure quickly spotted Miranda, with her armor sealed in a case in one hand while she gave out final commands to a team of soldiers.

"Come to see me off?" Miranda asked with a teasing smile as soon as they were alone. Though she couldn't see his face, she could feel that her question had amused him.

"In a way." The newest Cerberus operative replied in an even tone.

"I'm sure you have been informed that I won't be joining the Lazarus cell. This is where we part ways." He stated calmly.

"I do but if it isn't too personal, may I ask why? Shepard will require the best the galaxy has to offer."

"I have my own battles to prepare for." He interrupted her.

"I...understand." Miranda whispered, images of a young girl desperately wanting to escape from her father's clutches flashed in her mind.

"It was a pleasure," He stuck out a gloved hand. Miranda slowly extended hers and grasped it.

Normally, Miranda would have shattered the arms of anybody that dare touched her but Jason was different, she didn't know why, perhaps it was because they were more similar than she care to admit. Miranda nodded and he then released her hand and turning around, left her rooted to the spot.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she entered a shuttle that would take her to a facility specifically designed for Project Lazarus and her home for a while.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Cerberus Cruiser, shrinking every second.

As the shuttle docked into the research station, Miranda stepped out the shuttle after her team of security forces secured the parameters. Deep inside the facility, in a lab, Shepard's body laid on a operating table as Miranda studied the damage done.

Though Project Lazarus was granted virtually unlimited funds, the best scientific minds, and the latest cutting edge technology bought or stolen, it remained a monumental task.

Putting down the data pad in her hand, she activated the voice recording software on her Omni-tool, "Commander Shepard has been recovered. The Lazarus Project will proceed as planned."

**Please Read and Review. Give me some comments, good things I did and where I can improve. I took one of the previous reveiwer's advice and held the resurrection off for one chapter.**


	5. Rebirth

**A.N.- Hello, this is Z-bond and it's good to be back in fanfiction, what a busy year. Man, college and social life were sure time consuming. Add that with the load of work and my own suddenly changed lax attitude towards it after flying through High School like a hardworking drone. The result is not very good and I had to step up the gear. **

**I know it's been a 'while' since I've posted ANYTHING at all on fanfict and I humbly ask for forgiveness. I'll start out by posting this one and also fixing some previous things in the last four chapters given by some really good feedback, my hats off. 'Yeah, shout loud enough and eventually someone will come and investigate'….that line from Garrus is awesome. Some changes were made and duly noted**

**I've been checking bioware forums and a lot of people including myself are not really impressed by the squad size in ME 3. My response to those people who say the squad is too small in ME 3 is that newcomers wrecked it, it astounds me that people have actually told me they have played ME 3 but not the previous two. **

**Like WTF?! Herp Derp moment. It's like watching Matrix Revolutions without watching the two previous films. Or Return of the Jedi without watching New Hope and the Empire Strikes Back. It's all because of all the newcomers that the ME 3 squad was so limited. Not playing ME 2 and some characters die so you're left with Liara, Vega and EDI. **

**I Loled so hard when EDI became a sexualized fem bot…Gee it sure is something that isn't overdone (Insert sarcastic clap) **

**Sure ppl say its because of the whole "Organic vs. Synthetics" debate…if so, Legion would be better suited. As for Vega? First impression was….great, a ripped character from Jersey Shore. My view? No Krogan…that should be excuse enough to be livid.**

** Hell, as a person who has started from the first game, I wanted to have all if not most the characters available to me (Since, *SPOILER FOR PEOPLE WHO HAS NOT PLAYED ME 2 LMFAO, Thane doesn't have much time left and treatment for Kepral's Syndrome seems to be in early stages). **

**I saved all my squad members in ME 2 through multiple saves, why wouldn't you?**

** Yeah, I mostly stuck to Garrus and Liara/Javik most of the time. Some people might disagree with me on that and I'm COOL with it, though why anyone would play the third and final installment without playing the previous two is beyond my comprehension. **

**Would have been cool to have Major Kirrahe/Padok Wiks and Balak the Batarian if new squadies is an absolute must. Or Grunt and Miranda to replace Vega and EDI. **

**Don't worry, in this story, ME 2 squaddies will for the most part be on the Normandy in ME 3 my OC and Shepard's little bro won't join him…not yet, he has his own battles to fight.**

**~0~**

**Chapter 5: Rebirth**

_**Location: Lazarus Cerberus Science Facility**_

_**Two years after the destruction of the SSV Normandy SR-1**_

Miranda inwardly sighed as she observed the monitors that were filled with bits of information with crossed arms. Two years have passed since the Illusive Man had tasked her to Project Lazarus and in those two years, she studied everything relevant to the project. Consisting of molecular biology, human anatomy, bio-synthetic augmentation and many others.

Every last detail of John Shepard was forwarded to her: health records, past life, and abilities as a soldier. Furthermore, every mission Shepard undertook in the Systems Alliance and Citadel Special Tactics and Reconnaissance was memorized and catalogued.

The Illusive Man requested that Shepard was to be the same man with the same personality, potential and morals as he did before his demise. Anything less would be deemed as a failure.

As of yet, every report she had brought to the Illusive Man was positively responded. Despite her fears due to the seemingly limitless amount of funding given to her, the Illusive Man's demand was simple, "Do whatever it takes, no matter the cost."

Therefore, her requests for credits or technology would be granted without question. But with such treatment given, so were the high expectations. Though the expectations only drove Miranda harder to succeed, with so many resources, people and time put into this project, failure was not an option.

Getting started proved to be a bigger headache than she had anticipated or theorized, Shepard's skeletal structure was broken from head to toe. His organs and muscle tissues weren't standard, simple trauma that could be fixed by sewing and patching.

With the immense amount of dead tissue, cybernetics was utilized at the start of the resurrection process, helping in the growth and healing of tissue. Afterwards, the circulatory system was pumped with drugs to jumpstart the bloodflow, restoring red and white blood cells. Skeletal repair and heartbeat were reinstated with the help of implants along the crucial areas of the nervous system.

In the process, Miranda learnt that Shepard, like his younger brother, had element zero modules throughout his nervous system. Although no where as impressive as his sibling's, it was noted and the Illusive Man was informed of said discovery. Experimental L5x biotic amps were installed along with the cybernetic implants. Once installed, the modules inside Shepard were further exposed to element zero.

What little time she had left for herself were spent on reading and reviewing what she had already learnt or keeping herself up to date with the latest current events. She noted that several high-ranking officials from a joint Turian Hierarchy and the Systems Alliance meeting on the planet Aephus were assassinated two years ago and valuable warship intel had gone missing.

Of course, the media attempted to sweep it under the carpet with empty promises and false hope of getting to the truth like the aftermath of the Geth Invasion on the Citadel. But she knew it could only be him; only he was capable of pulling such a feat alone. Though it was not frequent that they were in touch, occasionally they would send messages or rarer still, talk to each other on a secure, isolated channel.

**~0~**

**Agony**. It was all he could feel, as if his nerves were set ablaze in addition of having every bone his body being crushed all at once. Not even interacting with the Prothean Beacon on Eden Prime could compare.

Gloomily, Shepard heard whispers that were amplifying every second and slowly, darkness, clinging so tight upon him was slowly dissipating as his vision became clearer.

"There, on the monitor. Something's wrong." Shepard heard a woman's voice with an accent he couldn't quite place.

_"Where am I?! What's going on?!"_

A voice silenced his questions, this time male. "He's reacting to outside stimuli. Showing an awareness of his surroundings."

Shepard's eyes slowly adapted to the bright lights around him, but the rest of his body remained still despite his struggle. Arduously turning his head, he heard the male voice speak again.

"Oh My God, Miranda. I think he's waking up." As Shepard turned his head to the left, he saw figure dressed in white with black sleeves, with long dark hair. Turning his head the other way, Shepard saw a bald man with a trimmed beard staring down at him, a strange emblem on the shoulder of his uniform.

_"Not Alliance…"_

"Damn it, Wilson! He's not ready yet. Give him another dose of sedative." Shepard looked towards his left once more.

_"Probably the one in charge." _His spinning mind thought.

"Shepard- Don't try to move." The woman, _Miranda,_ reassured him. It became apparent when Shepard could hear his heart pounding rapidly, and along with it, his breath.

Grabbing his flailing left arm gently, Miranda placed it back on the table. "Just lie still, try to stay calm."

The man, _Wilson_, spoke again. "Heart rate still climbing. Brain activity is off the charts!'

Shepard could practically hear bells ringing as he fought against the sedative they'd administered. "_Where Am I?! Someone tell me!" _His mind screamed through the haze.

However, his voice didn't seem to be operational. Miranda gritted her teeth as she moved above and around him to look closer at the monitors.

"Stats pushing into the red zone. It's not working!" Wilson panicked.

"Another dose. Now!" Miranda ordered. Shepard felt breathing becoming increasingly shallow as his heart pounded painfully. He saw Wilson fiddling with some equipment before the haze returned back to his mind. He could hear his heart rate lowering and his breathing slowing down.

"Heart rate dropping. Stats falling back into normal range." Wilson droned, his voice sounding very distant to Shepard. The world became blurry and fuzzy as lights began fading in and out.

"That was too close. We almost lost him." Wilson said in relief. At his comment, Miranda shot him a cold glare.

Turning towards him, Miranda said, "I told you your estimates were off. Run the numbers again." Then she turned her attention back to Shepard and lightly smiled as she watched him lose consciousness. Slowly, Miranda walked back towards her quarters.

Content that the final stages of Project Lazarus was at hand, now that Shepard was clinically alive. Motor function, nervous function and neurological function were all exceeding predicted estimates.

Though his memory was still relatively unknown, there would be time for tests later. She had to give him credit, waking as he did several days ago, despite the large dosage of drugs they had used to keep him in a comatose state. Sitting on a large comfortable chair behind her desk, she started up her terminal and started tapping the holo-keyboard.

**~0~**

_**Location: Horsehead Nebula, Anadius System, Cronos Station**_

"For this virtual reality simulation, eliminate all targets within the specified time limit….should be walk in the park for you da?" A middle-aged man with a head of graying white hair and glasses announced on his HUD.

Silently, the figure in sleek, full body black armor drew a red sword from the sheath attached on his hip that violently crackled with red energy on an endless virtual plane.

Wordlessly, he sprang into action as Alliance troopers appeared. Wielding the sword with relative ease, he hacked and slashed at his targets. Blood splattered as he twirled his body and cleanly severed a soldier's head.

Turning his head, his sword met the electric baton of an Alliance Captain before pushing it back and cleaning severed the virtual enemy from hip to hip. His body glowed with a red aura as he unleashed a powerful shockwave attack that swatted a group of troopers off balance, which was all he needed as red energy surrounded his body as he finished them off with a biotic charge.

Faced with more Alliance troops and somersaulting the rapid fire of firearms, he parried, slash and repeated, until the floor of the plane around him turned red as bodies fell. Narrowly dodged a blistering rocket as he surveyed the two YMIR mechs that appeared on the field.

Swinging his sword in an arc, he rushed at his mechanical enemies, easily swatting the rain of bullets sprayed at him. Leaping high in the air, he sheathed his sword before pulling a trigger on his sword sheath.

His sword shot out and catching it on sync with his right hand, delivered a slash of red energy that sapped away the mech's shield. A downward slash followed suit and the mech groaned once before it cracked apart and exploded. Turning his direction to his last energy with his sword resting over his right shoulder. He overloaded the mech's shields, slammed into the mech with a biotic charge and finished it by slamming his sword into its sheath, pulling the ignition trigger on his sheath and delivered one final charged slash, which caused the mech to splinter into pieces.

Surveying the damage he'd inflicted, he swung his sword downwards before sheathing it, a clicking sound indicating so.

"Otlichno! Otlichno! Very good." Dr Ivanov's voice and face appeared on the HUD of the silent swordsmen along with the killing stats of the VR mission.

"How do you like the upgrades?" Ivanov asked. "Better than I'd expected, the increased mobility is a nice touch at the expense of a larger variety of weapons." He replied tersely.

"Da, but overall against most enemies, your blade and palm riffle should be more than sufficient." Ivanov responded and pushed his glasses up, "Now relax, the boss wants to meet with you for your next mission."

"Copy that, Doc." The sword wielding soldier closed his eyes and after a sense of ascending like that on a roller coaster rushing up, he reopened his eyes and heard the sound of a casing being released. Steadily, he slowly climbed out of his training pod.

"How's the head?" Doctor Ivanov asked with a clipboard in one hand.

"Getting better each time." Was all that he said as started stretching his body.

"Good, now get dressed…you are expected." Ivanov noted, pointing to a locker nearby. The operative quickly changing into an upgraded version of his original full body black colored armor.

The armor enhanced his strength, agility, durability and speed as well as protected him. Last but not least, his new armor still retained the ability of limited flight. Next he donned on his helmet, which had been completely redesigned.

The faceplate was trashed and was replaced with a v-shaped glossy black visor. And attached to his hip tachi-style was his sword sheath, the sheath itself was designed from the receiver of a newly developed prototype light riffle named the M-76 Revenant with a handguard mounted trigger that allowed for a quick and powerful draw attack that could not be seen with ordinary human eyes when it was 'fired.'

However, with this in mind, his right arm was improved heavily via cybernetics in order to withstand the force his sword exerted whenever he deployed his charged attacks.

His left glove still had an automatic projectile-based weapon which he often augmented to better the accuracy and damage done.

And last but not least, within the sheath on his hip lies his augmented blade. It was one that he was immensely proud of, originally forged in Japan in the 16th century but brought over to Rio de Janiero in Brazil when the grandmaster of a kenjutsu dojo decided for a change in scenery.

As a young boy, he had shown interest in the oriental arts and after much effort and persistence in getting him to talk again after his trauma, his mother decided to take him with her to Brazil where he studied at a renowned dojo that specialized in the laido technique. It often put his mind off the persisting nightmare that was Mindoir as well as attuned his sense of focus.

Once he had obtained the blade, he'd made some augmentations and upgrades to it. Reinforced by a powerful alternating current and resonating at extremely high frequencies, the oscillation was strong enough to weaken the molecular bonds of anything it cuts, exponentially increasing its slashing ability.

In addition, with friction calculated into the equation, searing anything that it came into contact with it when superheated. And finally, it was theorized and proven to be a capable weapon against large foes as tested against YMIR Mechs.

One year ago, he had received mail that his mentor had fallen ill and requested his presence one last time, thus he returned to Earth.

_**1 year ago **_

_**Location: Sol System, Earth, Brazil, Rio de Janeiro**_

_The large double doors swung open as he tapped the code on his Omni-tool. Everything was as it was the first time these doors opened to him. An elderly looking woman with her grayish hair tied in a tight bun and dressed in a navy blue kimono and matching colored sandals greeted him. _

_Like an instinct, he remembered his manners as he removed his helmet and bowed in response. _

_"Come, he is waiting." His guide said simply and gestured for him to follow. Walking through a smooth stone path with Sakura trees on both sides, cherry blossoms floating and dancing in the air, permeating the air with a refreshing aroma. Even the most irritated and volatile of people will find calmness and inner peace here. _

_As he walked closer, he saw the dojo itself. Years have passed, things have changed yet it still stands strong and tall. It was divided into three different wings. With the East and West wing primarily used to house students and staff, while the North wing was used for training and to a certain extent, served as the grandmaster's private quarters. The South wing served as the main entrance as well as having several smaller practice rooms for students to hone their skills outside of lessons. _

_The building was heavily influenced by traces of Japanese architecture, with elements of the Shinto shrine and temples incorporated into it. He spotted the spacious courtyard where students were meditating. He had to suppress a smirk as he saw some students had momentarily stopped and were looking at him with curious eyes. Entering the North Wing, his steps became slower as he neared the private quarters of the grandmaster beyond the training area. _

_"He is waiting inside, please." His guide announced and left after giving a slight bow, which he returned._

**~0~**

_Sliding the doors opened, he stepped inside and saw his former mentor observing the scenery outside behind his desk with his back facing him. A katana in it's sheath laid on a beautifully handcraft desk. Detailed paintings and calligraphy were hanging on the walls. _

_"Sure as the sun will rise…it must descend…" Dressed in a completely black kimono, the man turned around, revealing a fatigued and creased face. A head of hair, was now completely white, as supposed to the grey he'd seen the last time he was here. _

_"Asano-Sensei…I've received your mail…I am sorry." He said, not knowing what else to say. However, his teacher merely chuckled. _

_"You do not have to address me as such any longer, need I remind you? Do not feel sorry for me, I am grateful for living as long as I have…leave your sympathy to the living…" The elderly samurai responded. "I have heard about many great things from you on the extranet…saving the galaxy. You have came a long way since those days as a boy in my school." _

_He stayed silent at the praise. _

_"The way of a warrior is not always the easiest…the choices we have to make…but first I ask again," Asano stared straight into his pupil's eyes, "Why do you fight?" _

The elevator doors opened and he walked door a hall filled with Cerberus soldiers on guard duty. Each giving him a salute as he walked past and were returned with a nod of acknowledgement.

_"I fight, to protect others who can't" _

Taking a right, he walked past the labs and staff members who went about their business.

"_Same answer as back then?...The reason I have for arranging this meeting is simple." His sensei smiled and walked over to his desk, tapped several keys on the underside of it and a click was heard. _

_Walking over to a long display case on the corner of the room and from it, he watched as his sensei withdrew a long red colored katana with a black colored handle. He knew what it was, a Muramasa sword. _

_It was one of the very few left that was not a forgery, as they were banned and destroyed after the year 1603 after the ascension of Tokugawa leyusu. Legends were told that it was a cursed weapon, a blade that must draw blood before being returned to its scabbard, to the point of forcing its wielder to wound himself or commit suicide. _

_"This sword has been in my family for centuries…faithfully kept away per request of Muramasa himself." Asano announced and swung the sword sideways, a loud metallic ring echoed the action. _

_"But my time has come, and I feel that it would be most apt for you to be it's next guardian…a fitting weapon for a warrior with no doubt, many difficult choices ahead of him." Asano finished with acceptance in his tone. _

_"Why me? Surely there are others more that deserve the honor more than I." He had asked. _

_"Now there's a real question…maybe it's what your future has in stall for you or maybe it's a misguided sense of sentimentality of an old warrior. But I knew, the moment you came into those doors as a quiet boy, regardless of the sorrow and rage within you, that you were destined for great things." His mentor offered a rare praise before his face turned serious again. _

_"It would be an honor. I will not disappoint you." He responded with respect. _

_"Good…however, before I can relinquish such a weapon to you my pupil…a ritual duel must be enacted. As it was the first time the blade has been passed down and since then…" The teacher threw down one last challenge, conviction in his eyes. _

_"I wouldn't have it any other way." The pupil responded. _

He waited as a heavily armored Cerberus Centurion scanned him and opened the door leading to a narrow pathway, nothing had changed, with soldiers lining up on both sides of the path as he walked past them.

_It was nearing dusk as he stepped out into the beautiful private dueling arena behind the North Wing, clad in a black kimono with a katana in hand. _

_"Remember the first duel we had here…" Asano said, facing him and observing the falling cherry petals around them. He remembered, it had not been easy, as Asano had utterly destroyed him, restoring some humility into him after his rather showy and reckless display in mock-duels with his classmates. _

_"I have learned much and this time, it will be different." The pupil replied calmly. _

_Asano smiled, "That's good…why that's very good…come, show me the strength of your belief." Teacher and former student bowed before a moment of silence filled the atmosphere, the only sound coming from the gentle breeze and the only movement came from the cherry petals, which continued to dance elegantly in the air. Then a metallic ring echoed in sync as two gleaming blades were drew._

Walking up the immense huge stairway and approaching the door, it opened. Walking slowly into the Illusive Man's personal sanctum, he was greeted by a familiar sight.

The Illusive Man was sitting on his chair, cigarette in hand as a female assistant handed him a holopad while a large star burnt brightly in the horizon, swirls of inferno red clashing with calm blue. The assistant was then dismissed as he approached. He waited patiently and it was until the assistant was gone and the door was shut behind her that the Illusive Man spoke.

"Good, you're here... Before we get down to business...it might interest you that Project Lazarus is a success, Shepard will be up and running as he was before his death." He took a drag of his cigarette before placing the holopad down and standing up to face his guest who remained nonchalant with arms crossed.

"Fascinating. Though knowing him…he'll work with you to eliminate a common threat then double cross you and go running back to the same Alliance that denied everything and swept the truth under the carpet like the boy scout he is." Was the response of his guest.

The Illusive Man smirked, "Yes, I have no doubt Shepard will inevitably crawl back to the Alliance, but it certainly doesn't take away his usefulness."

"He's nothing if not predictable." His guest finished.

"I knew you would see things our way…and judging by your previous statement, no doubt you have heard that human colonies are starting to disappear?"

"Yes." The agent responded simply and he was not one bit surprised at the lack of action taken by the Alliance or anyone for that matter. Why? Politics...

"Good, I need you to head to Ferris Fields near New Canton for some recon, eliminate any hostile force should the occasion arise but your primary objective is discovering the identity of the abductors…according to the map of colonies that were abducted, it may as well be the next target." The Illusive Man ordered, taking another drag of his cigarette.

"Understood." As the operative turned away, the Illusive Man's question stopped him in his tracks.

"Out of curiosity…if, should an occasion should ever arise, where you must face Shepard who stands in between your goal. What would you do?"

A moment of silence filled the atmosphere before sword wielding agent turned around and staring at his employer said, "I will fight, for what I believe in…no matter who is in the way."

With that he left the spacious dark office, leaving the Illusive Man who simply turned around and surveyed the burning star in front of him before sitting down and took a drag of his cigarette.

Arriving at the docks as the elevator doors opened, the lone operative slowly walked over to his personal aircraft, an MQ-X42S, or otherwise known as, 'The Destiny'.

Originally an Alliance design, its design had been swiped on the way when the Illusive Man had assigned him to take the plans for the SR2- Normandy after taking care of the delegation in charged with it's safekeeping.

Like its predecessors, the MQ-X42S resembled a flying wing and its strengths relied on stealth. It included a state-of-the art cloaking system that made it near impossible for it to be detected along with a sensor system that allowed for smooth entrance to different atmospheres on various planets.

It was also competent in potential aerial fights but did not do as well as expected when facing multiple enemies head on.

He then tapped several keys on his Omni-tool and watched as a platform descended from the underside of the sleek aircraft. Stepping onto it, it rose and brought it's pilot into the interior of the ship.

"Analyzing…" A female synthetic voice announced as the operative strapped himself to the seat and booted up the system, his seat lurching forward and he was lying on his stomach with the navigations system, yoke in the front and the rudder pedals near his feet.

"Agent ID recognized, welcome back. All systems are green and ready." "Copy Minerva, plot the shortest course to Ferris Fields, auto-pilot disengage."

"Understood." His ship's VI replied as the engine of the X42S powered up and shot out of Cronos Station and into space, quickly disappearing amidst the darkness.

_**Location: Secret Cerberus Science Facility**_

Shepard slowly regained consciousness as he dimly heard the ringing of alarms, along with it the sounds of gunfire. His years of training as a soldier kicked into action and soon, he was forcing himself awake to prepare for whatever threat was present. It wasn't long till a voice spoke over the speakers.

**"Wake up Commander." **

He forced his eyes to open as the voice continued to speak.

**"Shepard, do you hear me? Get out of that bed now – this facility is under attack."**

His head felt like exploding and his face felt like it was burning. Raising a hand, he felt what seem to be cuts on his face.

**"Shepard, your scars aren't healed yet but I need you to get moving…now." **

Finally able to get up, agony filled his mind. There wasn't a part in his body whether it is chest, arm or leg that didn't hurt. Quickly pulling out the needles and tubes out, cringing at the pain as he did so, he stumbled off the side of the bed. Slowly, he forced himself up to his feet and surveyed his surroundings. The voice spoke again. **"**

**There's a pistol and your armor in the locker on the other side of the room. Hurry!" **

Looking around, he spotted the locker and ran towards it. Opening the locker revealed a next-gen N7 armor and a pistol that he'd never seen before. Quickly suiting up, he called out, "Where am I? Who are you?"

**"My name is Miranda Lawson and I'm here to get you out. Hurry!"**

Shepard noticed the pistol he was holding. "What type of gun am I holding?!"

**"Technology has changed while you were out. Most weapons have adapted a…damn it!" **

Shepard looked around and saw some oxygen tanks near the door were caught in on fire.

**"The canisters are about to blow. Move!" **

Taking cover behind some tables, he stood up once the explosion cleared, opening a path out of the med bay. Approaching a dead guard, he spotted a strange metal canister next to the body. Inside said canister were strange reddish orange colored tubes.

**"That's a magazine filled with thermal clips. Load it into your M-3 Predator Heavy Pistol." **

Shepard obeyed and picked up the magazine and loaded his pistol. It took him a few seconds to discover the correct position and way before it slid in. And the fact that his fingers were stiff didn't help.

**"Here's the quick lesson on the thermal clip system. To aid firearms from overheating, a stock of thermal clips is used to contain the heat. Your weapon will have a set number of shots before you need to manually eject the thermal clip and the magazine will load a new one. If the magazine runs out of thermal clips, more will need to be inserted. Now get moving!" **

"Wait, how come I've never heard of anything like this before?" Shepard asked as he pressed on.

**"It's a long story and time is currently not on your side. You have to get to the evac shuttle." **

Leaving the medical suite, Shepard opened the door and seeing bodies behind a makeshift barricade he spotted a LOKI mech shambling towards him. Opening fire, he blew the mech's head straight off and leapt over the barricade and past the destroyed mech.

Running up stairs and down halls, Miranda would give him certain directions, which later he would be grateful for as it enabled him to avoid as much mechs as possible. Entering a large room whose function he had no idea of, he stocked up on thermal clips and took cover as the locked door was being cut opened.

Slightly peering out, he saw a LOKI mech, which was soon joined by four others of the same design and taking a deep breath, dashed out of cover and opened fire. His tactic worked as one mech exploded causing a chain reaction that staggered the four others and he wasted no time picking them off.

**"Nicely done, Shepard, you're clear." **

Shepard continued forward, eyes peeled for any sign of trouble. He sprinted through a hallway lined with windows allowing a view into another rooms. The next room had a lower floor with pipes and tanks. He spotted a M-100 Grenade Launcher next to a body.

**"More mechs heading towards you. Use the grenade launcher."**

Picking up the launcher, Shepard spotted four more mechs open the door below him. Taking aim, he aimed his shot at the center of the group and pulled the trigger, destroying all of them in one blast. Attaching the launcher to his hardsuit, he switched back into his pistol as he took the lift down towards the bottom floor. Running through the flames, the radio began to crackle with static.

"Miranda, are you there? Miranda!" He shouted, pressing his hand to his ear.

**"You're doing well...head to the coordinates I've uploaded…. to your Omni-tool Meet you… there."**

The last thing Shepard heard was gun fire and explosions before the line went dead. Opening his Omni-tool he confirmed the coordinates and moved out, pistol ready.

**~0~**

Clad in her sleek, metallic silver armor minus her helmet, Miranda held her position behind a few crates as LOKI mechs continued to fire in her direction, peering out of cover from the edge, she noted that all the mechs were being funneled out.

Engaging her Omni-tool and unleashing a full powered Overload, all the mechs caught in the blast crumpled to the floor. Sealing the door, she went back into hacking the terminal nearby. Security footage was wiped however she was able to save the backups before whoever betrayed them could destroy it too.

Her eyes narrowed with rage as she fast forwarded the footage and saw a familiar face in the control room. "Wilson," She hissed. She had kept strict control over security privileges and Wilson was only allowed access in the Bio Wing. She smiled as she saw he was foolish enough to stay online and coordinating more attacks. Tapping a few keys and she had launched her counterattack.

While she couldn't disable the mechs, she did command them to attack everything on sight, thus making Wilson a target as well. Unable to resist, she continued tapping a series of keys and the doors to the shuttle bay were sealed shut from his position. With her work finished, she overloaded the control room's console and left for the shuttle bay after checking her pistol, an M-77 Paladin, Omni-tool, armor and shields.

**~0~**

Leaving the office, Shepard paused in his steps, the realizations and revelations still sinking in. "It was the year 2185…I've been dead for two years. It took four billion credits to bring me back…how?"

Shaking his thoughts away and focusing on getting out, he continued on and soon arrived some sort of lounge and saw a dark skinned man dressed in some sort of dark armor he had never seen before who was exchanging fire with four LOKIs behind cover.

**~0~**

Jacob Taylor cursed as he popped off a few more shots at the unrelenting mechs with his M-6 Carnifex pistol. Just a few weeks back, he had told Miranda that he was feeling quite bored as he'd done nothing but fill out security forms and doing light patrols. What a one hundred and eighty degree turnaround as he now he was being shot at from all angles.

With a sigh, he peered out of cover and unleashing his biotics, levitated a mech into the sky before taking aim and blowing its head off and was surprised when the sound of more shots were fired and turned from his cover and his eyes widened.

The immediate threat gone, Shepard ran up to the other soldier and ducked behind the glass railing. "Shepard, what the hell…" Jacob started but was cut off as more mechs appeared from the door across from them and immediately started firing on both of them.

Keeping their heads down, Jacob asked, "What are you doing here? I thought you were still a work in progress."

Shepard narrowed his eyes at the response. "Look, I don't know where I am, or how I got here! I've been drugged, shot at, and nearly blown up since I woke up after two years! How 'bout **you** fill **me** in a little?"

Jacob raised both his hands in a placating manner. "Damn. Sorry, I forgot this is all new to you. I'm Jacob Taylor…" He started but before he could continue, more shots were fired at them and closer too. "Damn it." Jacob exclaimed before both soldiers stood up in sync and blew up four more mechs in a rain of gunfire.

Ducking back down, he continued. "Things must be worse than I imagined if Miranda has got you running around. I'll fill you in, once we get to the shuttle bay first."

Shepard was reluctant to oblige as he responded, "Ever since I woke up, someone's been telling me what to do. I need answers."

"Fair enough," Jacob agreed, "I'll give you the quick version. You and your ship were attacked and destroyed in a surprise attack. You were killed. Dead as dead can be when they brought you here. Our scientists spent the last two years putting you back together. You've been in a coma the entire time." He smiled gravely and gestured, "Welcome back to your life."

"This isn't an Alliance facility." Shepard stated.

"No, it isn't," Jacob confirmed. "I'm not allowed to say much more for now. The Alliance officially declared you KIA. The whole galaxy thinks you're dead." More bullets struck their cover. "And if we don't leave soon, they'll be right."

"Were there any survivors from the Normandy?" Shepard pressed, hoping to whatever deity out there everyone including Liara had gotten out safely.

Through sound of rapid gunfire, Jacob merely said, "I'll tell you what, you help me finish these mechs off and I'll pay twenty questions with you all day long."

Shepard nodded and through the glass, he saw five more mechs stood in their way. He looked at Jacob and saw the man to be concentrating. He'd seen the same expression on Kaiden to know that Jacob was a biotic too. A second later, blue energy surrounded him as he threw out his arm and thrust it at the mechs. A LOKI mech took to the air helpless to Shepard who merely picked it off with a clean shot. Between the two experienced soldiers, the LOKIs had no chance as everything became quiet afterwards.

Holstering his M-6 Carnifex, Jacob turned to Shepard. "Okay, I promised to answer your questions. What do you want to know?"

"You said they spent two years rebuilding me. How bad was I?"

"I'm no doctor, but it was bad. When I first saw you, you were nothing but meat and tubes. Anywhere else they would've put you in a coffin," Jacob answered.

Shepard was surprised as his eyes widened as Jacob continued, "But Project Lazarus was different, unique. Cutting edge technology."

"What can you tell me about the project? Were there other test subjects?"

"Project Lazarus had only one subject. The whole point was to bring you back. Just you. Even that was a challenge. Two years, all the top scientists, best technology money could buy."

"Four billion credits?..." Shepard knew neither the council nor the Alliance would drop that kind of cash just for him. "What did they do to me? Cloning, cybernetics?"

"I don't know the details; you'd have to ask a scientist. But I'm pretty sure you're not a clone. They wanted to bring you back exactly as you were. You're still you; you just might have a few extra bits and pieces now."

"The last thing I remember was the Normandy blowing up. Did anyone else make it?"

Jacob nodded. "Just about everyone survived. A few servicemen from the lower decks didn't get out, Navigator Pressly was killed by an explosion, but everyone else, including the non-Alliance crew – the asari Liara, the quarian, they all made it out alive." Shepard breathed a sigh of relief, it was better than he'd hoped. But know, anxiety crawled into his gut, how would his mother and brother react to his rebirth? How would Liara take it?

"Hello, I'm back, How's everybody doin'?" He could imagine him saying to his shocked family and sighed.

Sounds of gunfire and explosions echoed in the background. Shepard looked around and decided to focus on the present. "Do you know anything about this attack? Who's behind it? What they're after?"

Jacob shrugged. "Honestly I have no idea... I was getting for some rest then... a bunch of explosions happened. Next thing I know, every damn mech in the facility goes berserk and starts shooting, at us. I'm guessing it had to be an inside job. You'd need top security access to hack all the mechs."

Glancing at Jacob, Shepard asked, "What's your job here anyway?"

Jacob shrugged again. "Depends on who you ask. Technically, I'm Miranda's top lieutenant, but I'm just a soldier. I served five years in the Alliance before this. Now I'm in charge of this station's security. Usually a lot more dull than this. Normally, I don't fire my gun unless it's target practice."

"When I woke up, someone named Miranda was talking to me over the radio. We lost contact just before I ran into you." Shepard started, finally glad someone who knew what was really going on.

"Miranda Lawson is the station's ranking officer. She led the Lazarus team. It was her job to bring you back to life no matter what. Should've guessed she'd try to save you. She's not about to give up on you now." Concern clouded Jacob's face. "You said you lost contact? Could you tell what was happening?"

Shepard nodded. "There some gunfire and an explosion right before I lost her."

Jacob looked away. "She knows how to take care of herself… but I hope she's okay."

Deciding to focus on getting off the station, Shepard looked around. "What's the quickest way to those shuttles?"

Jacob replied, back into his soldier persona. "Depends where the mechs are thickest. It's probably best if we…" he trailed off as he put his hand to his ear. Standard Alliance procedure for incoming radio calls, Shepard noted. This man was definitely a former Alliance Marine or had some training in the Alliance of sort.

"Wilson, this is Jacob." Shepard paid closer attention to the conversation after hearing Wilson's name. "I'm here with Commander Shepard. We just took out a wave of mechs over in D wing."

There was a pause.

"Roger that, Wilson. Stay on this frequency."

"I think I remember a Wilson checking on me one time when I woke up." Shepard commented out of the blue. Jacob nodded.

"That's him. He's the chief medical tech. Answers directly to Miranda. Come on, service tunnels are this way." And the two unlikely pair raced off

**~0~**

They eventually found Wilson after facing some more mechs and Shepard immediately felt suspicion at the chief medical tech, there were no mechs, or mech remains around him when he claimed to be shot. He kept a close eye on the man as Jacob applied some medi-gel to the wound. The results were immediate as the blood stopped leaking and Wilson's breathing became more even.

Standing up and carefully putting weight on his wounded leg, Wilson said, "Thanks Jacob. Shepard."

Looking directly at the commander, he smiled thinly. "Never thought you'd save my life. Guess that makes us even now."

He gestured to the broken control panel. "Thought I could shut down the security mechs." He shook his head. "Whoever did this fried the whole system. Completely irreversible."

Jacob crossed his arms. "We didn't ask what you were doing. Why do you even have security mech clearance? You were in the Bio Wing."

"Weren't you listening?" Wilson retorted. "I came here to try and fix this! Besides, I was shot! How do you explain that?"

Shepard shook his head. "I don't care who set up who! Those mechs are shooting at all of us! We'll sort it all later."

After a last glance at Wilson, Jacob turned to Shepard. "We need to find Miranda first. We can't just leave her behind."

"Forget about Miranda," Wilson started. "She was over in D wing. The mechs were all over that sector. There's no way she survived."

"A bunch of mechs won't drop Miranda. She's alive." Jacob stated with confidence in his voice.

"Then where is she? Why haven't we heard from her?" Wilson argued. "There are only two possible explanations. She's either dead or she's a traitor!"

Shepard shook his head. "Then why did she wake me up and warn me about the attack?"

Wilson relented and backtracked. "Okay, maybe's she's not a traitor, but that doesn't change the fact that we're here and she's not. We need to save ourselves."

Pointing down the corridor, Wilson said, "The shuttle bay is only a few…" Further directions were cut off as more LOKI mechs appeared. Jacob started firing his pistol as Shepard noted a few barrels that had the warning 'Flammable' etched on them.

Lifting his pistol, he fired two shots and watched as the explosion destroyed the mechs. With the threat gone, he started towards the door. But Jacob's voice stopped him in his tracks

"Shepard. This is getting tense. If I tell you who we work for, will you trust me?"

Wilson leaned again some crates and crossed his arms. "This really isn't the time Jacob."

Jacob glanced at Wilson, "We won't make it if he's expecting a shot in the back."

Wilson shrugged. "If you wanna piss off the boss, it's your ass Jacob."

Shaking his head, Jacob turned toward Shepard. "The Lazarus Project. The program that rebuilt you. It's funded and controlled by Cerberus.

The name immediately clicked in Shepard's mind. Floods of memories came. A pro-human splinter group. Experiments with biotics, rachni, husks, and thorian creepers. Thoughts of Corporal Toombs and his torture from Akuze. Admiral Kohoku and his assassination came to his mind.

Keeping his tone neutral, all he said was, "I wiped out my share of Cerberus projects as a Spectre. There were trying to kill me. Why the change of heart?"

Jacob shrugged. "Those answers are way beyond my pay grade, but basically, things changed. The Alliance declared you dead. They gave up, so Cerberus spent a fortune to bring you back."

With a sigh, he added. "Look, I'd be suspicious too, but right now, we have to work together. I thought you deserved to know what's, what. Once we're off the station. I'll take you to the Illusive Man. He'll explain everything. I promise."

Shepard couldn't really place the title as he had never heard of such a name before. "Illusive Man? He's in charge of all this?"

Wilson chimed in. "Yeah, that not his real name of course. Nobody knows who he really is."

"It's a code name the Alliance used for him. Kinda stuck," Jacob supplied.

Shepard shook his head. "I don't care what his name is. He just needs to answer my questions."

Jacob nodded. "He spent a lot of time and money bringing you back. I'm sure he'll tell you everything you want to know."

Wilson limped toward the two soldiers. "It's not much farther to the shuttle bay." Entering the next room, Shepard knew they were close and almost out, as he noted the cargo room where crates were stacked, ramps leading to another area and lifts going up and down.

Thankfully, only LOKI Mechs were present and were dispatched easily. After fighting their way through the cargo room, Wilson quickly limped towards the shuttle doors. Shepard narrowed his eyes and readied his pistol knowing full well that victory was also when someone was at their weakest due to loosing concentration. This was the moment of truth.

"Come on! Through here." Wilson started typing in his commands to unlock the doors. "We're almost at the…"

The doors swung opened long before Wilson finished, revealing a figure in sleek and fitting metallic silver armor. Shepard had just enough time to notice that it was a woman and a quite dashing one as her blue eyes narrowed and her lips formed a scowl, directed at Wilson.

"Miranda?...You were…" Wilson stuttered before Miranda raised her M-77 Paladin and shot Wilson right between his eyes.

"Dead?" Miranda finished.

Shepard trained his pistol on Miranda immediately, keeping one eye on her and one inside the shuttle bay for any more hostiles while Jacob stared at Miranda incredulously.

"What the hell are you doing?" He exclaimed. Miranda simply glanced at Shepard, seemingly uncaring of the pistol pointed in her direction, before turning to Jacob.

"My job," she said. "Wilson betrayed us all."

Deciding that she wouldn't raise her weapon against him, Shepard lowered his gun. "I had a strange feeling that something was up with him."

Miranda turned her gaze toward him, her face betraying nothing. "Good instincts," she said. "Some people are far too trusting to ever see that coming."

She nodded as she nodded her head towards the shuttle. "Come on. Let's grab this shuttle and get out of here. My boss wants to speak to you."

Shepard crossed his arms You mean the Illusive Man? I know you work for Cerberus." Miranda immediately glared at Jacob, her eyes piercing. "Ah, Jacob. I should've known your conscience would get the better of you."

Jacob was defiant, however. Crossing his arms, all he said in his defense was, "Lying to the Commander isn't the way to get him to join our cause."

Miranda faced Shepard again; she'd imagine what would happen when this Alliance poster boy would react if he could see his brother now.

"Well, since we're getting everything out in the open, is there anything else you want to ask before we go, Commander?" She asked icily.

"You're the Lazarus Project's director, right?"

"That's right. I put two years of my life into this. Into you."

"What does Cerberus want from me?" he pressed. "Maybe you should ask the Illusive Man when you meet him. He poured virtually unlimited resources into Lazarus. Obviously, he has some kind of plan for you." She stated, already feeling bored at the meangingless questions.

He looked at the shuttle. "Where are we going?" he asked turning his gaze back to her.

"Another Cerberus facility. The Illusive Man is waiting for you there." She replied shortly and offering nothing more.

Shepard regarded the woman in front of him, trying to find some measure of her character. "I'm not sure I trust you just yet" Miranda looked unconcerned.

"This is the only shuttle off this station. You want to stay and rot with the mechs? Be my guest," she countered with a shrug of her shoulders. Inwardly, she wondered how Jason turned out so differently as suppose to this Alliance poster boy.

"I just think it's convenient that you show up as we're leaving. Where were you during the attack?" he asked, keeping his eyes on her. She didn't even flinch.

"Besides trying to save your life?" she said matter-of-factly. Shepard didn't twitch at her remark.

"Wilson sent an army of mechs to take me out. I got here as soon as I could." She broke eye contact with him to look down at Wilson's corpse. "Too soon, if you ask Wilson," she commented as kicked Wilson's boot with her own.

"What about the rest of the people on this station?" Miranda shook her head.

"This is the evac area. If they're not here now, they're not coming."

Shepard held his position though. "We can't leave without knowing for sure. We need to go back and look."

Miranda instantly knew that this working relationship was going to be arduous and excruciatingly painful for her mind, what Jason had said before was spot on. John Shepard was truly stubborn, naïve and foolish despite his achievements, evident in the first place of trying to save the pilot of the first Normandy and ended up dead, she was unsure whether he will become a liability in the near future. This was what the Illusive Man had demanded to bring back from the dead?

"Don't you get it? The only one worth saving is you. Everyone else is expendable," Miranda said frostily.

Jacob chimed in. "She's right. We all knew the risks when we signed up. Without you, there's no point to any of this."

Shepard still appeared unconvinced.

Miranda sighed. "I'll call for reinforcements if that makes you feel better. A squad can help anyone else faster than the three of us," She responded.

He considered her words carefully, trying to detect any deception. Eventually, he nodded his acceptance.

"Fine. I've had enough of this station to last a lifetime."

The slightest hint of a smile appeared on her face. "Or two in your case." As quickly as the smile came, it disappeared as she turned around. "Come on."

The trio stepped into the Kodiak shuttle and seated themselves. Miranda informed the pilot to take off and call for search and rescue team to sweep for survivors.

**~0~**

As the shuttle continued at FTL speeds, Shepard couldn't resist staring at his own reflection in the window, noting the glowing orange scars on his face. His mind was a large puddle of mess as he struggled to come to terms that two years have passed and that he died.

Miranda broke the silence as she spoke up eventually, getting everyone's attention. "Before you meet with the Illusive Man, we need to ask a series of questions to evaluate your condition."

Jacob scowled as he turned to face Miranda. "Come on, Miranda, more tests?" He protested. "Shepard took down those mechs without any trouble. That has to be good enough."

"It's been two years, the Illusive Man needs to know that Shepard's personality and memories are intact. Ask the questions." She ordered.

"This is a waste of time. I feel fine." Shepard responded, not really in the mood.

"That's not up for you to decide," Miranda retorted and nodded at Jacob, "Start with personal history."

Jacob sighed and brought out his Omni-tool to look for relevant data. "Okay records show you were a colony kid. Lost your father and sister when Batarian slavers hit Mindoir. You enlisted and won a medal during the Skyllian Blitz. Do you remember that?"

Shepard remembered, the explosions that took away his dad and Jennifer while inadvertently saving his and his little brother's lives. His fists clenched tightly as the scene replayed in his mind.

"_No child should ever be exposed to something like that._" He thought as he remembered trying to cheer up his little brother but failing when they got back to Earth, as he got nothing but silence. His mother had even taken a long leave of absence to find a way to treat his brother's sudden muteness.

"A lot of lives depended on me holding that position. I did what I had to." Shepard took a deep breath and responded, choosing to ignore the former and addressing the latter. Miranda was indifferent as Jacob nodded.

"However you want to put it, it was damn impressive. I had friends who were there." Jacob turned to Miranda. "Satisfied?"

"Not quite," Miranda said, though her tone had a lace of appraisement in it. "Let's try something more recent. Virmire, where you destroyed Saren's cloning facility. You had to leave one of your squad to die in the blast."

Shepard's look darkened as the question hit closer to home than he'd liked.

Jacob jumped in before things get heated in a bad way, "Lt. Kaiden Alenko was killed in action. It was your call. Why'd you leave him behind?"

Taking a deep breath and trying to remain clam, Shepard answered, "I left a friend to die that day and I didn't do it **casually**, but I had to save as many people possible. Kaiden gave his life for the rest of the team. Without him, I couldn't have stopped Saren. He died a hero."

Jacob nodded, "I understand, Commander, and we weren't judging your decision. Everybody at Cerberus knows that cloning facility had to be destroyed."

"Shepard, think back to the Citadel, after the Alliance saved the Destiny Ascension and killed Saren. What happened next?" Miranda questioned.

"Humanity was offered a spot on the council. I recommended Captain Anderson for the position," Shepard responded.

Miranda nodded. "Yes, though Captain Anderson is now Councilor Anderson. From what I hear, he preferred life in the military."

"Still, it's nice to know the human council member is going to put politics ahead of defense," Jacob tossed his credits in.

"Your memory seems solid, but there are other tests we really should run…"

"Come on Miranda, enough with the quizzes. The memories are there and I could vouch for Shepard's combat skills personally." Jacob crossed his arms.

Miranda nodded with a slight sigh. "I suppose you're right. We'll have to hope the Illusive Man accepts our little field test as evidence enough."

_**Author Notes:**_

**So, what do you think so far? I just started writing this casually and I couldn't drop it down. This will be a novelization of the second and third game. Though it might be longer considering that I will be adding parts not present in the actual script such as our mysterious Cerberus operative's missions and thoughts apart from Shepard's storyline. Before anyone asks, I will clarify that Shepard will be a soldier class but like the game, will be able to do some biotic damage. List which power you want in your reviews or pms. And do tell me whether you want the characters to be restricted in terms of weapons. I.E. Miranda can only use pistols and submachine guns. Because in some cutscenes, squaddies carry weapons that aren't present in the gameplay itself.**

**And yeah please review, I've taken some time off and I would like to receive helpful feedback to improve my writing. **

**Unfortunately, my laptop hardrive crashed…so I lost all my HP stuff HOWEVER, I made backups but they're not the most updated version so yeah…real sorry about that ladies and gents…hang tight.**


	6. Colony Investigation

**A.N.- Finally, I'm on break. Been playing ME 2 again to get the feeling of the story (Yeah I know, could have youtubed it but I prefer to play it myself.) I have also been thinking a lot about Shepard's brother and trying to flesh him out from the ace prodigy that he was. Concurrently, I'm also thinking about making Cerberus more influential and more threatening than what we got in ME 3. **

**The potential of TIM and Kai Leng were wasted, Leng in PARTICULAR. SERIOUSLY…. "Now its fun" and who could forget "Shh Shhut up!" on Cronos Station. I just O.O, that IS NOT Leng, more like my kid brother when he loses an debate with me and finally Leng's not a Phantom class soldier who wields a ninjato. He uses guns and a sharp knife for close quarter combat. I was so excited when I heard that he was going to be in the game because Retribution was a great read. **

**Luckily, a friend warned me of the abomination that was Deception ergo I have absolutely no knowledge what occurs in that joke of a book and gratefully so. Though it is disconcerting to get a glimpse as to what Kai was reduced to, a cereal killer who pisses in vases and uses a sharpened toothbrush as a weapon….not very Anti-Shepard if I might say so myself. **

**Apparently Kai was written by Drew K who left the writing team in ME 3 *****Insert Darth Vader's NOOOOO*, if anyone could have made Leng the villain we deserved but never got in ME 3, it would be Drew K. It's a shame. He was set up perfectly as the other side of the coin along with Shepard in Retribution. **

**John Shepard **

**Class: Soldier**

**Abilities: Adrenaline Rush, Cryo Ammo, Incendiary Ammo, Disruptor Ammo, Undeveloped Biotic power**

**Weapons: Assault Rifles, Submachine Guns, Heavy Pistols, Sniper Riffles, Heavy Weapons**

**Armor: N7 Armor**

**~0~**

**Genesis or other wise know as 'G'**

**Class: Shadow**

**Abilities: Overload, Warp, Flare, Biotic Charge, Biotic Slash, Tactical Cloak **

**Weapons: High Frequency Muramasa Blade, Palm Cannon, M-12 Locust **

**Armor: Phantom Armor (similar to the N7 Slayer Armor but entirely black)**

**~0~**

**Chapter 6: Colony Investigation**

_**Location: Ferris Fields**_

Appearing from FTL speed, the sleek MQ-X42S entered the orbit of human colony of Ferris Fields. "Approaching destination, Ferris Fields, would you like to be given an overview of the colony?" The feminine voice echoed within the ship.

After a moment the voice spoke again, "I understand, prepare to descend."

The ship's pilot remained unmoved as the X42S entered the atmosphere of the planet with relative ease. The first glimpse of Ferris Fields momentarily brought back memories of another human colony he had landed on in what seemed to be another lifetime ago. Returning to his task he allowed Minerva, his ship's VI to take the helm.

Upon switching to autopilot, he was brought upright as his seat rearranged itself to correspond with the mode of flight. Quickly unstrapping himself from the pilot seat, he secured his blade sheath onto his belt from his weapons locker and hanged it at his side while withdrawing his M-12 Locust.

Checking his suit and weapons systems and feeling satisfied, he strapped himself in a contraption that looked like launcher pad of sorts and pressing a button on his Omni-tool, the loading platform descended and bright sunlight shined on his helmet, while the gentle splashes of the ocean beneath him filled his ears.

As his ship neared closer to the shore, the black garbed agent pressed a button on his Omni-tool and after exactly five seconds, he was launched from the platform as his ship retracted its loading platform and activating its cloaking system pulled up.

Nearing the shore, crackling red energy surrounded the agent as he suddenly spread his arms wide and slowly descended onto the shore, causing water to splatter violently.

Slowly he stood up as his biotics dissipated and after his visor had displayed that not hostiles were present, activated his tactical cloak, made his way away from the beach and towards the colony as fast as he could. The Illusive Man was rarely, if ever, wrong when it came to information. He'd hope that he had enough time to safeguard the colony as his gut lurched.

Ferris Fields, as suggested from the name was a colony that relied on farming and agriculture, nothing unique or spectacular like much of other human colonies as the Cerberus Agent neared the central hub of the colony. People were up and moving, going about their everyday business.

Arriving at a building with FERRIS FIELDS SECURITY, he entered the building. The previous abductions suggested that a large group was responsible, he knew he was good, but numeral advantage still presented a disadvantage against him in addition he knew that something was off as he read the reports of previous abductions. No retaliation of any kind was showed against who ever was abducting the colonists, suggesting that the abductors had tech that allowed them to take colonists against their will but without harming them in the process. He'd to mobilize whatever defenses the colony had.

**~0~**

_**Location: Horsehead Nebula, Cerberus Facility, Minuteman Station**_

The Kodiak shuttle left FTL with a lurch as space outside the window returned to normal. Shepard noted that there was a massive space station orbiting slowly above a planet. After the shuttle docked within the station, Miranda led them through sets of corridor, halls, and passageways.

Shepard merely marveled at the size of the station's interior, he'd knew that it would be easy to get lost in this maze. Eventually Miranda opened a door that led into what looked like a waiting room. Rows of uncomfortable chairs were drilled into place next to two large windows that offered a fantastic view of the star in the present system.

Miranda stopped and turned around to address Shepard. "The Illusive Man is down the hall to the right," She directed, pointing toward the back of the room. "Jacob and I will remain here."

Shepard turned his head sideways to see Jacob off to the side of the entrance, glancing out of the window. Meanwhile Miranda calmly walked to the other side of the room and to a terminal. A couple of technicians were working within some office.

Something felt off for Shepard as he walked towards the directed way, stopping in his steps, he approached Miranda who merely looked up, a delicate eyebrow raised.

"Your boss isn't really here, is he?" Shepard cut the chase.

"How do you know he's not here?" A taunting smile appeared on Miranda's face as she continued tapping on the terminal.

"You expect me to believe that I will be talking to the Illusive Man with a Grenade launcher on my back?" Shepard replied bluntly. Miranda nodded with acknowledgement.

"You're not a member of Cerberus, Commander," She began, "In fact, reports have shown that you stood against us many times before your…unfortunate demise." Shepard remained silent though he knew what was going out. "Of course, certain precautionary measures must be taken in the interest of security for the Illusive Man and your safety." Taking Shepard's silence as a cue to continue. "We do not wish to be your enemy, your reaction to our organization is evident enough based on your history with us before your death."

Hardening her gaze, "If you want a personal meeting with the Illusive Man, I assure you that it would not be pleasant to say the least. Most likely involving the use of drugs, shackles and armed soldiers with weapons trained on you." Miranda finished with a shrug.

Returning her attention to the terminal she added, "Just go down the hall to the right. Only a handful of people meet the Illusive Man personally anyway. Even within Cerberus." Miranda knew that this was true, she knew one hundred percent excluding the Illusive Man's assistant, that only she, another operative named Kai Leng and one other agent dubbed 'Genesis' had the honor of meeting him in person and frequent, especially the latter two if rumors were anything to rely on.

The one named Genesis especially caught her attention, and despite her resources and information, the agent remained a complete mystery and unknown. It was rumored that the operative never spoke outside of the Illusive Man's office and like Kai Leng, responded to no one but the Illusive Man.

Turning around, Shepard walked toward the hallway on the right side of the room and down the stairs. Arriving inside the dark room below, all he could see was a silver disk on the ground with a blue light pattern inscribed just inside it.

Slowly, he stepped up to the center of the disk and waited. Slowly, a cylinder of orange light rose up from the disk he was standing on, shining its light from Shepard's boot upward.

Surprised, he surveyed his body as the orange light continued to rise. Seeing the geometric figures on his body meant that he was being scanned. As soon as the light ascended beyond his eyes, the scenery had changed before him. He was no longer in the facility but in a very dark yet large room with colossal shadows generated by the glowing star directly in front of him.

However, Shepard drew attention to the lone figure sitting in front of him.

The Illusive Man.

_**Location: Ferris Fields**_

Inside the security station, a lone figure garbed in black armor was furiously tapping on the keys on a terminal as five security guards were knocked out cold on the floor. Overriding all authority with a program he had uploaded into the system from his Omni-tool, the Cerberus agent had issued a warning to all colonists to evacuate to a military bunker until further notice was given.

In addition, he had activated all mechs within the station and deployed them around the colony for patrols. He was relieved that the colony had in addition to Loki Mechs, YMIR Mechs as well.

He'd been trained for the last two years to do the work of a squad of soldiers, and was worked to the ground harder than he'd ever been his whole life and often faced against numerical and tactical disadvantages in various missions but he'd pulled through but something really did not feel right.

His eyes shot up from behind his visor as the Communications systems went dark. Luckily for him, he'd thoroughly hacked the control of the mechs and they could be controlled on his Omni-tool.

An ominous, low rumbling sound then echoed through the speakers and the agent quickly went through various cameras situated at the colony, hoping to find one that would identify the source.

Finally getting to a camera that had its view to the sky, he saw what seemed to be large shadow in the clouds. As the figure took shape and broke through the clouds, the Cerberus Agent's eyes widened momentarily.

He'd seen this ship before, in a report two years ago. It was the report that delivered Commander Shepard's demise. The cruiser he was seeing now matched the one depicted two years ago.

"What…is that?" The Cerberus Agent turned around and saw a security officer he had knocked out cold, mouth agape and knees trembling. The man looked about in his early-mid twenties.

The agent said nothing but moved to the entrance, turning his head back he said in a neutral tone, "Keep an eye on the bunker, inform the colonists of the situation and inform them to stay there. I'll lock the door from the outside…Here." He tossed a small ear comm. at the man who fumbled to catch it.

"Use the monitors and direct me if you see anything, can you do that?...Mr.?" The agent stated.

"Uhhh…su...sure thing and its Robert." Robert nodded as he placed the ear piece on and fumbled to the terminal.

Locking the door behind him, the agent slowly descended down the stairs when he heard a distant buzzing noise. Looking up he zoomed in on his HUD and saw what seemed to be a swarm of flying bugs that were heading in his direction.

Pulling out his M-12 Locust, he fired rapid, accurate shots at the oncoming black buzzing cloud. However it did not seem to do much damage as he somersaulted sideways simultaneously activating his tactical cloak.

**~0~**

_**Location: Horsehead Nebula, Cerberus Facility, Minuteman Station**_

Shepard remained silent as he surveyed the Illusive Man, trying to get an angle to read on. Sitting on a simple chair as if it were a throne and dressed in a designer and expensive suit. Holding a cigarette in his right hand between his index and middle finger and a drink in his left.

Shepard couldn't help but notice that his host was sitting between him and an enormous red and blue star that made identifying the Illusive Man's physical features difficult. The first human Spectre could still make out the silver-grey hair that dominated the Illusive Man's head and the strange glowing shape within his unnatural blue eyes.

Lifting his cigarette and taking a smoke, the Illusive Man acknowledged his guest. "Commander Shepard," He stated simply while exhaling his smoke.

Crossing his arms, Shepard responded, "Illusive Man." Taking a sip from the glass he held on his left hand, the Illusive Man regarded Shepard with calculating eyes.

"I've waited a long time to meet you. I'm glad we finally got the opportunity." Shepard merely held his pose as the Illusive Man continued, "I apologize for all the trouble since you woke, but I'm glad to see that you're still able to handle yourself, I've tried to take every necessary precaution, you understand, but there are always threats out there that we can't anticipate. Threats that would do what they can to silence us. Not unusual for people who know what you and I know."

"You might be the reason I'm alive but that doesn't mean I trust you." Shepard responded, still with his arms crossed against his chest.

"You need to put your personal feelings aside, Humanity is up against the greatest threat in our brief existence." The Illusive Man answered with planned look. Pausing to take another drag of his cigarette, he tipped his head as he regarded the hologram of Shepard before him.

Immediately, a chill went down Shepard's spine as he instantly knew where this conversation was going. "The Reapers."

Tapping his cigarette into an ashtray on the left side of his chair, the Illusive Man continued. "Good to see your memory's intact. How are you feeling?"

"You need to earn the right to ask those kinds of questions." Shepard returned.

"Cerberus isn't as evil as you believe," said the Illusive Man, before taking another drag of smoke. "You and I are on the same side, we just have different methods."

Shepard still remembered the disconcerting Rachni, Thorian and Husk experiments along with Admiral Kahoku being found as a casualty in one of his missions.

However, he pushed such thoughts away from his head as he responded, "Cut to the chase. What are the Reapers doing that made you decide to bring me back."

"We're at war," was the answer. Standing up from his chair and looking at Shepard straight in the eye, the Illusive Man walked closer toward the hologram projection.

It was then that Shepard could finally get a better look at the mysterious leader of Cerberus. The Illusive Man had to be in his fifties or sixties from the looks of it and appeared to have no obvious flaws on his face, perfectly symmetrical and well-proportioned and had a dour expression displayed. Judging by the way he walked, the Illusive Man sure had plenty of confidence.

"No one wants to admit it, but humanity is under attack. While you have been sleeping, entire colonies have been disappearing. Human colonies. We believe it's someone working for the Reapers. Just as Saren and the Geth aided Sovereign. You've seen it yourself. You've bested all of them. That's just one reason we chose you."

Shepard was honestly shocked, surely some measure of action had to be taken if what the Illusive Man said was true.

"Fighting a war doesn't seem like Cerberus. Why are you involved?" "We are committed to the advancement of and preservation of humanity. If the Reapers are targeting us, trying to wipe us out, Cerberus will stop them," the Illusive Man said with certitude. "If we wait for politicians or the Alliance to act…there might well be no more human colonies left."

Shepard remained doubtful, thinking on the amount of time and money spent on him. "You could have trained an entire army for what you spent to bring me back."

The Illusive Man smiled in a way Shepard couldn't get a read on, "We have no shortages in well trained soldiers and troops, you'd be surprise of the amount of discontent there is directed at the Alliance and to an extent the Citadel authority. A lot has changed in the last two years…no, we brought you back because you are unique. Not just in ability or what you have experienced, but what you represent. You stood for humanity at a key moment. You're more than a soldier – you're a symbol," The Illusive Man pointed out, sipping on the drink he held in his left hand.

Shepard's eyes narrowed, as he digested what he heard, "Just what happened in these two years to make people distrust the Alliance and the Council?"

However, again he filed those questions for later as he pressed on, "Sovereign was trying to harvest all life in the galaxy. Why would he target a few colonies?"

"Hundreds of thousands of colonists have vanished. I'd say that fits the definition of 'harvesting,'" the Illusve Man replied.

Now that was a real bomb dropped onto his lap as the news stunned him. "How could no one know about this?"

Apparently, the Illusive Man read his surprised and added, "Nobody is paying attention because it's random and the attacks occur in remote locations. Mostly in the Terminus Systems. I don't know why they've suddenly started targeting humanity. Maybe you caught their attention when you killed one of them." The Illusive Man explained.

Shepard wasn't stupid, despite his brother being the gifted 'scholar' in the family, he knew that Cerberus had spies and influence in the Alliance as well as in other special forces groups of different alien species. "If this is a threat against humanity, you need to mobilize the Alliance."

The Illusive Man shook his head.

"They suffered substantial losses fighting Sovereign. They're rebuilding, still stretched too thin to waste resources verifying the Reaper threat. Blaming the attacks on mercs and pirates is easier. And more convenient," The Illusive Man concluded with a dismissive wave.

What the Illusive Man just poured more questions as Shepard continued, "Isn't there any evidence of the attacks? Something to show what was involved?"

"None. Evidence gathered by both Cerberus and Alliance have found no trace as to the identity of the attackers," He answered. "Every colony that's been targeted, however, has the same patterns. Every colonist, and I mean everyone, vanishes without a trace. Buildings remain standing and intact, occasional marks that suggest gunfire from defiant colonists and no distress beacon."

And here at last, Shepard knew he had to make a decision as he tried to process everything he had just heard and place things together. As much as he'd hated to admit it, the Illusive Man didn't seem to be lying. The colony attacks would certainly be easy to look up as well as responses from the Alliance.

"If what you say is true…" Shepard took a deep breath, "If the Reapers are behind this…I'd consider helping you."

The Illusive Man seemed unperturbed, "I'd be disappointed if you accepted any of this without seeing for yourself."

Turning back to his chair, he continued. "I have a shuttle ready to take you to Freedom's Progress, the latest colony to be abducted. Miranda and Jacob will brief you," He summarized, sitting back on his chair.

"Miranda killed Wilson in cold blood. Jacob's just a gun for hire. You expect me to trust them?" Shepard asked.

"Wilson was one of my best agents. But he was a traitor," The Illusive Man idly ran his hand over his forehead. "Miranda did exactly what I expected of her. And she saved your life in more ways than one," he added.

Tapping his cigarette into the ashtray, he looked up and took a drag. "Jacob's a soldier, one of the best."

Glancing at Shepard, he added. "He's never fully trusted me, but he's always been honest about it."

Leaning back in his chair, he concluded, "You'll be fine with them…for now."

"Is this a volunteer job or am I being volunteered?" asked Shepard.

"You always have a choice Shepard. If you don't find the evidence we're both looking for, we can part ways," The Illusive man exhaled a breath of smoke.

"But first, go to Freedom's Progress. Find any clues you can. Who's abducting the colonists? Do they have any connections to the Reapers?" The Illusive Man offered rather than ordering it. "I brought you back. It's up to you to do the rest." With that, the conversation was over as the Illusive Man pressed a button on a holographic panel.

**~0~**

_**Loaction: Ferris Fields**_

The Cerberus Agent swung his Muramasa blade with graceful expertise as he sliced off the limbs of an unknown hostile that resembled a bipedal brown colored insect before decapitating it with cold, clean precision. A biotic barrier surrounded him like a nucleus, having earlier taken a risk, exposing himself to stop the hostiles from getting close to the bunker.

Luckily, his biotics prevented the swarms from coming into contact with him directly. Naturally, this presented a drawback, he was to do without his biotics in offense as he had no idea how long the battle will last nor the amount of hostiles present, though the mechs did take some pressure off him.

Standing guard in front of the bunker entrance, blade and his Locust submachine gun ready, he prepared for the next wave of hostiles. He held the strategic location, in front of the bunker while the only way in was a single path that was helpful in funneling hostiles in. Though that advantage became significantly less effective as soon as the hostiles started flying and dropping from the roofs of the buildings around him.

He had to credit the opposition, they certainly possessed a degree of intelligence to not charge straight up to him after several waves despite knowing they had numerical advantage. However they have since adapted, recognizing the damage his sword could unleash in close quarters.

Robert turned out to be of assistance as well, overloading several generators that had managed to momentarily stun a substantial amount of hostiles to allow the agent to finished them off with a well-placed frag grenades that he'd salvaged while fending off the bipedal aliens.

The grip on both his weapons tightened as more dark brown bipedal insectoid shape hostiles poured in, riffles aimed towards him. He calmly activated his cloak, and with the assistance of whatever mechs were left arrived into his killzone, decloaking he easily hacked a insectoid alien in half, hip to hip.

Raising his left arm, he pulled the trigger on his Locust and sprayed rounds at the second nearest hostile, parried the shots fired towards him from a third with his sword until he was close enough and cleanly hacked the riffle the insectoid held into two and a downward slash finished it perfectly.

He then spotted a new type of hostile as by the time he slashed an insectoid upwards and unleashed a torrid of bullets to its abnormally shaped head, right in the middle of its four eyes. The new hostile resembled what seemed to be several husks he'd encountered on Eden Prime two years ago but fused together. It fired what seem to be a shockwave at him and he realized that he had no time to dodge and as he simply swung the Muramasa sword in a parry stance.

The force of the opposition's biotic attack surprised him, but only momentarily as he bent his knees and allowed his weight to plant him to the ground. Seeing that the seeker swarms had retreated for now, he focused and red energy surrounded his body, and he charged forwards, the tip of his sword directed at the enemy.

The large husk was sent staggering as it was hit by a Biotic charge and groaned as the Cerberus agent's sword penetrated itself deeply into the center of its grotesque body. Pulling the sword out with a grunt, the agent somersaulted back, slammed his sword into its sheath and running towards the stunned husk, pulled the handguard trigger, and promptly cleaved the husk in two.

The sounds of wings and buzzing sounds that followed after a brief hiatus of silence made it to his ears as the sword wielding individual turned his head round and smiled. The insect like creatures spotted him and started firing their rifles. Parrying and swatting the shots, his sword glowed bright red and swing his sword in an arc, sent a wave of biotic energy that swept the insect aliens off balance.

As he cleaved the nearest enemy closest to him, he left arm and hand glowed red as he sent a mass effect field that slammed into the second, the three remaining aliens faced the same fate as their predecessors as they all fell to the biotics and seemingly archaic weapon of this defiant human.

As all hostiles were eliminated, and when that's when he thought it was finally over, a loud ear splitting screech filled the air. He looked up and saw a large flying husk that resembled a beetle with jagged looking claws swoop down, and with even more of the two legged insect aliens that he'd been fighting for the last couple of hours pouring out from behind it from the path.

Holding his sword with both hands in front of him in an defensive stance, he was suddenly shocked to see a bipedal insect alien walk in front of the large, purple colored beetle husk, facing him.

What happened next will leave an eternal mark in his memory as the alien suddenly bent over, as if were in pain before jerking around as if it were in a seizure. It levitated above the ground as trails of glowing orange and yellow lines emerged along its entire body. Energy crackled and surfaced as if it were suddenly set on fire. The alien then landed on its feet, and surveyed the lone human with eerie glowing eyes.

**"**_**ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL." **_

The Cerberus agent remained silent though behind his visor, his eyes narrowed. Something was off, he had heard that tone, different but similar. Then it hit him, what this thing was and who was behind the abductions of the other human colonies. Though outwardly he remained unchanged as he tightened his grip on the Muramasa blade.

**"**_**YOUR RESISTANCE IS FUTILE, HUMAN, YOU DO NOT COMPREHEND YOUR PLACE**_**."** The Reaper controlled thrall boomed.

The agent remained silent as he heard a crackling sound over his comm. system and a bit of static before the channel cleared up massively. "It has been a while…Genesis. A mail would have been nice. I hope you don't mind me gate crashing votre fête…" A feminine voice with the slightest hint of a French accent made itself present over the barely operating comm. channel.

"Pas du tout…" The agent known as Genesis replied while keeping both eyes on the lead thrall.

Turning his attention to the Reaper thrall, he spoke in a tone of indifference, "Enlighten me, just what exactly is our place?"

**"**_**IT IS BEYOND YOUR COMPREHENSION. WE ARE THE HARBINGER OF YOUR ASCENDENCE. WE ARE THE BEGINNING, YOU ARE THE END. YOUR RESISTANCE ENDS HERE." **_

Both the Reaper thrall and Genesis thrust their arms out and a yellow orb with black energy crackling around it and a red orb were released, seeking the to maim the one that had sent the opposing attack. Activating his cloak, Genesis side flipped and narrowly dodging the attack. The Reaper thrall known as Harbinger merely staggered backwards as the red orb of mass effect shields slammed into its body.

Genesis readied his sword as the large beetle like husk gave a screech and lurched towards him, but gave out a pained shriek as it was assaulted by multiple rockets that slammed into it and exploded, causing a great amount of damage. Grateful for the diversion as the large beetle husk decided to go after the gunship behind him while another Cerberus gunship sprayed its chain gun at the insect alien troops behind Harbinger.

Effectively putting himself and the Reaper thrall in a one on one duel. De-cloaking himself and with his sword in one hand and Locust in another, he rushed at the thrall unloading his Locust at his target.

However Harbinger's shields absorbed the damage with relative ease, tossing aside his Locust, his entire body glowed red with biotic energy as he gripped his sword with both hands. Harbinger merely thrust its arm out and sent two yellow orbs laced with crackling black energy.

Instead of pausing to roll sideways, Genesis slammed his sword into it's sheath, quickened his pace, bent his knees and performed a perfect mid air flip that would have made any seasoned acrobat impressed.

Time seemed to have stopped as his right hand edged closer to the handguard mounted trigger. Pulling it, the Muramasa blade shot out and catching with his right hand Genesis swung it in an arc, delivering a slash of red energy that collided into Harbinger, sapping its already low shields from the beating it took from his Locust earlier.

Seizing his chance, Genesis' body glowed red as he smashed into the Reaper thrall, staggering it.

"Now!" His mind commanded as he tightened his grip on the hilt of the sword and slashed upwards and twisting his body delivered a second slash across the torso and a final downward slash completed the dance. Satisfied, he turned around but was stopped in his tracks as Harbinger's voice boomed.

_**"YOU ONLY DAMAGE THE VESSEL. WE ARE NOT FINISHED."**_

Raising his sword, Genesis approached the thrall but jumped back when a single shot rang in the air, and he watched as the Reaper thrall fell back onto its back to the ground. The glowing orange and yellow lines fading away on its body, making it identical to every insectoid alien he'd cut down.

Slowly turning around and looking up, he spotted a figure on the roof of the bunker with a M-98 Widow Anti-Material Rifle.

Lowering the riffle, his mysterious confederate raised a gloved hand and brushing a side bang of blonde hair, lifted her goggles. Revealing a pair of sharp green eyes, the sniper rose to her feet and leapt off the roof, landing deftly on her feet.

"Nova…I understand this was to be my mission." Genesis stated in a neutral tone as he addressed his fellow colleague in front of him as he sheathed his sword, a click followed.

A woman of Caucasian descent in her mid twenties with blonde hair that was tied in a ponytail with two side bangs that ran down both sides of her face simply flashed a teasing smile. She was garbed in grey and navy blue medium armor with the Cerberus insignia etched on the center of her chest plate.

"The more the merrier, non?" Nova sauntered over to the sword-wielding agent, putting a slight sway in her hips.

Unfazed Genesis merely ignored her, walking towards the bunker and activating his comm. systems, started a link to Robert.

"Have all hostiles left the area?"

"Yeah, the cruiser started retreating not too long ago when several gunships appeared over the colony and started assaulting it…they with you?...You're..you're not Alliance are you?" Robert asked quietly.

"Yes… and No." Came the simple answer and Genesis ended the transmission, turning around he saw Cerberus troops beginning to clean up the mess and lifting the dead carcasses of the insectoid aliens for further research.

"Get those specimens onto the ships, I want us out of this system before the Alliance gets here." Nova ordered.

"Yes m'am!" The troops responded and carried out the order. The large beetle like husk was going to be difficult to bring along as Genesis watched an Assault trooper scan the dead monstrosity before several other troops around him torched it up with flamethrowers.

"Why are you really here? This mission was given to me by the highest authority." Genesis asked as he approached Nova after securing his Locust.

Turning her head sideways, the sniper replied. "The boss ordered me to tail you and wait in this system in case anything went wrong…your abilities in performing the impossible are impressive I admit but even you would have succumbed to the numerical disadvantage had the fight dragged on for a few more hours, judging by the persistence of the enemies and if so, you would be among those to be abducted."

"I'm flattered." Genesis said in a tone that suggested anything but.

"You should be…the mysterious and powerful Genesis...needs saving from little old me." Nova teased.

"The Reapers were behind it all weren't they?" She added, playful tone all but gone. "

"Yes." Genesis replied simply as they walked back towards the central hub of the colony where the troops were hauling the dead aliens.

"Why are they only harvesting humans…" Nova murmured. Genesis remained silent, he had questions that his benefactor needed to answer.

"M'am…it's done." A heavily armored trooper approached the two Cerberus agents. "Good, get everyone onto the ships…we're getting out." The trooper saluted and went about gathering the rest of the troops.

Turning to face Genesis, Nova smiled. "I would like to continue our taunting game but there will be time later yes?"

Genesis nodded and the sniper turned around and followed the rest of her team, leaving the sword wielding operative on his own.

He was about to activate his Omni-tool to insert a program that would wipe any trace of them being present when he saw Nova turn her head, the Omni-tool on her left forearm glowing and sent him an impish wink before disappearing into thin air.

Shaking his head, he signaled the X42S to a landing zone near the beach he first landed on and activating his cloak, blended in seamlessly with the environment.

**~0~**

_**Location: Horsehead Nebula, Cerberus Facility: Minuteman Station**_

Walking back into the waiting room, Shepard was drowning from the questions he had in his head. "Two years…am I still a Spectre or in the Alliance?"

Now back in the waiting room, he noticed that Jacob and Miranda were still in their original positions though he had a hunch that both were briefed on the mission he was given. Miranda looked up from the terminal she was at as Shepard approached before returning her attention back to what she was doing.

"The Illusive Man is very impressed with you. I'm eager to see if you can live up to his expectations on this mission," She said in a neutral tone.

Deciding to play nice for now, Shepard responded. "I never got a chance to say how much I appreciated what the Lazarus Project did for me."

Looking up Miranda faced him. "I just hope it was worth it. A lot of people lost their lives on that station."

"We have to work together, here. Your attitude isn't helping anything." Shepard said neutrally.

"I have the utmost respect for your abilities, Shepard. It's your motivations that concerns me." Miranda retorted icily, "I believe in what Cerberus stands for. Only time will tell if you prove to be an asset or a liability to our cause."

Shepard remained undeterred as he tried to get a better reading on his 'allies.' "So tell me a little about yourself." He asked boldly.

Miranda felt incessantly annoyed at the amount of questions, she was almost tempted to ask the Illusive Man for a cell switch but focused as she stopped typing on her terminal and looked Shepard right in the eye.

"Worried about my qualifications? I can crush a mech with my biotics or shoot its head off at 100 yard; take your pick." She said.

Noticing Jacob at the corner of his eyes, Shepard asked, "Did you and Jacob serve together in the Alliance?"

"No, the Illusive man recognized my potential and recruited me at a young age." She answered, her tone changing a bit.

"How old were you?" He pressed.

"I don't think my personal history's any business of yours, Commander. I'm not looking to be your friend. Stay focused on the mission." Miranda's gaze hardened and returned to her terminal.

**~0~**

Jacob turned around as Shepard approached him. Offering a smile, he greeted, "I'm glad the Illusive Man convinced you to join us, Commander."

Shepard shook his head. "I just want to find out what happened to those missing people. I still don't trust Cerberus." Shepard responded.

"Noted," Jacob nodded. "Do you trust me?" He asked.

Shepard felt conflicted, Jacob had been honest and open to him so far. "You're a good man Jacob, but you might be working for the wrong people."

Jacob looked away and scowled. "That's what I thought when I was with the Alliance. I served five years there, a couple as a Corsair," catching Shepard's confused look he added, "It was an Alliance initiative, hiring independent starship captains and using them for missions that fell outside official Alliance jurisdiction. We were suppose to be free from restrictions and rules but there was still enough red tape to sink a cruiser. I gave up."

Shepard took a while to digest what he had heard, it would seem that little had changed. "Is that why you joined Cerberus?"

Jacob shrugged. "I guess I got tired of never making a difference. So much of what we did in the Alliance seemed pointless. I thought things would change after the attack on the Citadel. Humanity was finally invited to join the Council." He shook his head, "Nothing's changed. Politics, bureaucracy, same bullshit, different leaders."

Crossing his arms, Jacob looked Shepard in the eye. "Cerberus is different. When colonies go missing, we don't commission a team to write a report to figure out what to do about it; we just go and find out."

Deciding to drop the subject about the Alliance, he switched topics.

"When are we leaving?"

"Soon. We're refueling the shuttle and waiting for our weapons to be delivered." Came the reply.

"And me?" Shepard asked, noting that he only had a grenade launcher and a pistol.

"We got something for you. Not exactly the best but it'll do."

_***Encrypted***_

_**Project Lazarus Mission Summary:**_

Shepard escaped attack on the facility, along with operatives Taylor and Lawson.

Facility destroyed by remote detonation once survivors were acquired.

Salvage teams will ensure no incriminating data survived.

Per Miranda's recommendation, I'm running security sweeps on other cells to ensure that Wilson is our only mole.

Regardless of the cost, Project Lazarus was a success. Shepard is back.

**~0~**

_**Location: UT-47 Kodiak Drop Shuttle, En route to Freedom's Progress.**_

Shepard sat patiently in the Kodiak shuttle as they traveled to Freedom's Progress at FTL speeds. He had gone over and checked his weapons that were given to him. An M-8 Avenger developed by Elkoss Combine, it was a fairly standard gun and used in militaries and mercs in the galaxy due to its reliability and accuracy. Next was a M-23 Katana shotgun that had five shots before ejecting thermal clips made by Ariake Tech. Again it wasn't the best shotgun in the market but reliable. His final weapon was an M-29 Mantis sniper rifle, manufactured by Devlon Industries to replace the older Striker series. Though he did find that it burnt up an entire thermal clip, which was not really an improvement from previous sniper rifles.

Content his weapons were working, he looked over at his new team that the Illusive Man had assigned. Miranda was clad in her sleek, metallic silver armor with a helmet that had a black face plate and four slanted red eyes. She was inspecting a submachine gun and a heavy pistol.

"An M-9 Tempest and a M-77 Paladin, an improved yet unproved prototype of the M-6 Carnifex, both were upgraded from a colleague, more shots per thermal clip, reduced recoil and stability, that sort of thing." She said with a slight smile. It had been a pleasant surprise when she had received her new weapons along with a note that simply had the initials J.V.S. written on it with a marker. She still wondered time to time on how he did it.

Shepard noted the quick change but never had the chance to call it out as a small throb of deceleration before they left FTL and was once again surrounded by space and twinkling stars.

"What can you tell me about this colony we're going to?" Shepard asked, trying to get a better view of the mission.

"Freedom's Progress? Not much, only that we lost contact with them not too long ago. I guess we'll find out when we get there." Jacob responded.

"It's a typical human settlement in the Terminus Systems. They had a small military force for protection supplemented by mechs and security drones. Average in every way, really; completely unremarkable. Until the disappearance…The Illusive Man put us under your command. Do you have any orders?" Miranda added

"Are you sure you'll be comfortable following my orders?" Shepard asked.

"We didn't bring you back from the dead just to second-guess you, Commander. If the Illusive Man says you're in charge, you're in charge." Jacob replied.

"In that case, our first priority is to look for survivors."

"That's unlikely. Commander. No one was left at the other colonies. They were completely disserted." Miranda responded. "Be nice to find somebody. Anything's better than another ghost town." As the Kodiak shuttle descended and the pilot informed the trio of their ETA, Shepard and his team finalized their prep.

**Please R&R, tell me what you liked and what you feel can be improved. Muchas gracias**


	7. Freedom's Progress

**A.N.- ****Not abandoning my HP fanfics. Ever since my hard drive crashed along with my refined new chapters. I have had little motivation to redo them but I'll still get them done. Much like my college papers XD! I'm currently vacationing with my family so I'm not going be at my computer for long stretches of time. Please be patient. HP and the Veela is MY pride and joy and I will see to it that it gets finished. No longer how long it takes so please bear with me on the long journey ahead.**

**Good, got that out of the way, next chapter going to be about Freedom's Progress and the commencement of recruiting squad members for the team. Starting with Omega. Genesis won't have much content as Shepard in this one, alas to my great disappointment. Still trying to get an equal amount of content written for both Shepard and Genesis so that one isn't overshadowed by the other. **

**I hope I haven't made Genesis too much of a MGS character, I didn't intend to make him a swordsman in the Mass Effect galaxy, where it's mostly a cover shooter. He does uses firearms such as the M-12 Locust, very much like Snake-Eyes in the new G.I. Joe movies in that gun and sword mixture aspect. It's easy to remember that he was trained in the ways of the sword when he was young but he's a soldier and N7 also so he's got to be pretty competent with guns of all manners. I hoped you all liked the inclusion of my new character, Nova. I based her on her counterpart in Starcraft 2, I always thought she was badass and flaming hot at the same time. Definitely one of my faves in that universe. That said, the Nova in my story is also an infiltrator class that favors taking out targets from a distance. **

**A competitor against Miranda? Maybe…**

**And no, Shepard will not be the absolute unstoppable force that went perhaps a bit too overboard in the 2****nd**** and 3****rd**** game. He may have upgrades but that does not make him Terminator. **

**P.S.- Martin Sheen is so awesome, the Illusive Man is such a great character and he's got one of the best soundtracks in the trilogy. **

**So onto the story, here…we...go.**

**~0~**

**Chapter 7: Freedom's Progress**

_**Location: Horsehead Nebula, Anadius System, Cronos Station **_

"Good work on Ferris Fields…though direct interference was not what you were ordered to do." The Illusive Man said to the hologram projection standing before him, taking a sip from his drink. The star churning violently behind him, blood red and calming blue intertwining, still fighting to be dominant but neither gaining advantage at the moment.

"I had the chance of stopping an entire colony being abducted…and besides, you got the proof and specimens you needed…sir." Genesis replied in an indifferent tone. Over the years, his brown hair that he had kept organized had grown out and was now close to being chin length while his frosty blue eyes engaged in a staring contest with his employer's eerily glowing blue ones.

After a moment, the Illusive Man relented as he sat back down onto his chair with practiced suave. "Indeed…but in the future, I expect you to inform me of any change of plans."

"Like what you did with this mission?" Came the reply.

"Your abilities were never questioned, however given a few more hours you would have lost the fight and you, in addition to the entire colony would have been abducted." The Illusive Man countered patiently," and besides, it was Nova who requested me permission to follow you. You should say thank you next time."

Genesis folded his arms. "Why did she do that?"

The Illusive Man shrugged with a rarest hint of a smile, "You'll have to ask her yourself, I'm afraid. I have many fortes but monitoring personal relationships of my operatives is not one of them."

A brief pause of silence then followed but was soon broken as the Illusive Man continued. "The Alliance has touched down on Ferris Fields to provide the colonists with aid but relations remain fragile at best, unsurprising…hopefully, the Collectors will think twice before attack them again…given you singlehandedly held them off long enough for us to make a clean sweep." The Illusive Man rubbed his forehead.

"The Collectors...interesting. Though I thought the they preferred to maintain their distance." Genesis showed no surprise at hearing the name. His mind was processing what he had fought and witnessed on the mission and comparing to the fight on the citadel against Saren and Sovereign. The swarms of insects, the distinct beam like weapons that the biped instectoids carried, the large husk like monstrosities and the being that called itself Harbinger.

"Yes, however now it seems their attitude has changed. They remain inscrutable to many, usually they travel within the Terminus Systems looking for unique specimens with genetic mutations or abnormalities in exchange with partaking some of their technology. Then they disappear back beyond the Omega 4 relay." The Illusive Man elaborated before putting a cigarette into his mouth and lighting it up with a silver lighter.

"What concerns me is that the previous sample sizes were in the dozens not tens of thousands and they're targeting only humans." He exhaled a breath of smoke.

"They're harvesting us." The Illusive Man took a second drag of his cigarette.

"I fear that's what all the evidence is pointing at, yes…humanity must have caught the attention of the Reapers after the destruction of Sovereign."

"Then we need all the intel we can gather on them as well as any information regarding the Reapers fast." Genesis suggested.

"Precisely…I have several plans set in motion, I'll brief you when you returned." The Illusive Man concluded.

Genesis nodded and was about to disengaged the communication when the Illusive Man's voice stopped him. "It might sate your curiosity that Shepard is currently at Freedom's Progress…I assume you have covered your tracks well…the Collectors will be watching you from now on in addition to the Alliance."

"Boss, have a little faith...my credentials speak loudly for themselves, I won't be found unless I wish to be." Genesis responded before severing the link leaving his boss gazing at the now disconnected communicator with an unreadable expression etched upon his face.

The Illusive Man ran his left hand through his hair as he took a drag of his cigarette before exhaling as he called in his assistant. "Time is of essence, please bring me those dossiers that I have requested."

**~0~**

Genesis left the Quantum Entanglement Communicator and returned to the front of his ship and sat down. For once, his helmet was absent as he ran a hand over his face and up to his sweat matted hair. Having his own stealth ship definitely helped immensely in his effort to keep his identity a secret, he was never a people person and he loathed people who tried to engage him in conversation. The silence suited him.

"Minerva, I'm handing the ship to you…take us back to base for refuel and whatever necessary repairs that are needed." He ordered.

"Understood." His ship's VI replied as he leaned back in his comfortable seat and closed his eyes.

His 'social' problem had only gotten worse after he joined up the army and later the 'N' Special forces program. Although the officers in charge of the program were a little put off, to be put lightly, of having the Hero or Butcher of Torfan, depending on perspective, joining the special forces, his abilities and potential were deemed too valuable to be wasted. They were superseded by an unknown benefactor, which to this day, Genesis had been unable to trace.

That and coming from two military families had gotten him a lot of unwanted attention, other recruits seemed to be in awe of him which he thought was pathetic. His cold and uncaring attitude eventually exceeded his hero status and it found him few friends while he trained and prepared, which he felt indifferent about.

To him, the only people one could count on in the end was themselves. It was why he preferred to work alone.

On more than one occasion did he receive remarks on his mentality but they were discarded due to his ability to bring results. Looking back, Genesis smirked. Training more than twenty hours a day, participating in zero gravity combat, parachuting, jetpack flight, combat diving, it was hell if one ever existed. There were certainly moments along the way where he felt his body would break.

Genesis turned his Omni-tool on and a rectangular holographic screen appeared above it as a video commenced. Three children, two boys, both with dark brown hair, one taller than the other and younger girl with long flaming red hair were running freely, their kites high in the air.

He allowed the nostalgia overwhelmed him as he watched on. It was these memories that became his anchor as well as his anger. While he was never publicly announced as a xenophobe, even after the whole incident with Torfan, it was no secret Genesis hated Batarians. Even when he was inducted into the N7 program, it had caused quite a stir.

It was easy for everyone else to say, they didn't see their families and friends getting blown up into a bloody mess.

When he was younger, he would often dream about that night, houses burning violently, innocent civilians being slaughtered by gunfire, hearing their screams and desperate pleas, seeing his father and sister blown up and the grounds stained with blood, so much of it.

Despite receiving the best counseling therapy money could offer, Mindoir will always be a part of him along with the anger and hate. As a result, that hate had unconsciously manifested itself into his fighting style, regardless of weapon and opposition. Doctor Ivanov had remarked that he was a peculiar and unique case.

As he watched the video continue, Genesis realized that the anniversary of the attack of Mindoir was around the corner. He laid his head back and closed his eyes as he thought of the necessary preparations while his ship flew on in FTL speeds.

**~0~**

_**Location: Freedom's Progress Colony**_

The skies were dark and it was snowing lightly as Shepard proceeded through the disturbingly quiet colony. Upon landing, he didn't like what he felt.

"FENRIS and LOKIS incoming!" Jacob shouted.

"Open fire!" Shepard ordered, lining up his Avenger assault riffle and pulled the trigger. It blew the head of a LOKI right off.

"Nice!" Jacob exclaimed as he used his biotics to lift the other mech before finishing it with his Eviscerator shotgun.

Miranda used her Overload on the oncoming FENRIS mechs and shot a Warp that caused both mechs to disintegrate upon impact. After finishing their welcoming party, Shepard and his 'team' regrouped after the silence had reassert itself.

"Something's not right. Those mechs should've recognized us as human." Jacob muttered.

"Someone reprogrammed those mechs to attack on sight, we're not alone here." Miranda responded.

"Hopefully, it's a survivor or someone that might know something." Shepard added, "Let's go."

"Yes, Commander." Miranda and Jacob said before readying their weapons. Keeping eyes open, the three walked past the broken mechs as Shepard brought them through buildings instead of choosing to remain outside to minimize the chances of meeting more mechs.

As he neared a warehouse, he could hear voices emanating from within. He signaled with his left hand while his right held the Avenger. Miranda and Jacob took their positions on either side of the door while Shepard switched to his shotgun. He nodded at Miranda who turned on her Omni-tool to remotely unlock the door.

As the door opened, the three sprang into action, Shepard and Jacob with their shotguns ready while Miranda gripped her Tempest tightly behind them, announcing their presence.

"Drop your weapons!"

"On the Ground Now!" There were six people inside the warehouse, who were startled by their entry and tried to raise their weapons but stopped as they saw Shepard and Jacob's shotgun had closed the distance.

Shepard's eyes widened a bit before they returned to normal, "Quarians." He thought.

Two attempted to raise their weapons before a feminine voice broke the silence.

"Wait! Prazza, stand down!"

"What?!" Prazza exclaimed.

"Put your weapons away!" The female Quarian commanded. Shepard immediately recognize that voice, recalling hearing it the first time in the lower wards of the Citadel.

"Tali! Is it really you?" Shepard asked with a mixture of hope and shock in his voice.

The female Quarian turned around and froze. "Shepard? No…it can't be…"

"It's me." Shepard took off his N7 Breather helmet.

"You're…You're alive?" Tali choked, Shepard could see the shocked look on her face beneath her mask.

"Yes, I can prove it. Did the geth data I gave you help you on your pilgrimage?" Shepard asked, ordering Miranda and Jacob to lower their weapons with a signal of his hand.

"Yes, it did." Tali laughed lightly.

Turning to her team of Quarians, she commanded, "All of you stand down. This is definitely Commander Shepard."

"Why is your old commander working for Cerberus?" Prazza lowered his riffle.

"I don't know," Tali said.

"Maybe we should ask." She faced Shepard.

"How am I suppose to explain this? What can I say? That I died and Cerberus brought me back from the dead?" Shepard mentally questioned himself though he decided on a half truth would be the best for the current situation.

"I nearly died, Tali. Cerberus spent two years putting me back together. They want me to investigate the recent attacks on human colonies." "

Likely story," Prazza crossed his arms, "No organization would commit so many resources to bring back one soldier."

"You haven't seen Shepard in action. Trust me, it was money well spent." Tali shook her head in response.

"So, what brings you here to Freedom's Progress?" Shepard asked, wanting to switch the topic.

Letting it drop, Tali responded. "We're looking for a Quarian named Veetor. He was here on his Pilgrimage."

This was the breakthrough Shepard was waiting for, his head processing the odds. "If Veetor was here during the attack, he might know what's going on."

Tali became a bit reluctant as she played with her hands as she did when she was feeling nervous. "That's the hope. We've seen him but he might not be in the best state to answer questions. He was injured and ah, nervous-"

"She means that he was unstable," Prazza interrupted. "Combine that with the damage to his suit's CO2 scrubbers and an infection from open air exposure and he's likely delirious."

Tali sighed and pressed a hand to her masked face. "When he saw us landing, he hid in a warehouse on the far side of the colony. We also believe he activated the mechs and programmed them to attack everything that moved."

"Then we need to find him fast, it'll be quicker if we teamed up." Tali considered it for a few seconds then nodded.

"Now we're working with Cerberus?!" Prazza protested angrily.

"No Prazza, you're working for me. If you can't follow orders, go wait on the ship." Tali shot him down before turning her attention to Shepard.

"Head for the warehouse through the center of the colony. We'll circle around the far side and draw off some of the drones to clear a path."

"That's fine," Shepard nodded and added to the other Quarians, "You get your friend and we get our data. That's all there is to it. You have my word."

The other Quarians nodded uneasily.

"Keep in radio contact and…it's good to see you again Tali." Shepard informed his former teammate.

"Will do. Good luck, Shepard. Whatever happens…it's good to have you back," Tali smiled. Returning it, he nodded and donned his breather helmet back on.

After Miranda and Jacob signaled that they were ready, the trio walked through one door while the Quarians walked through another. Shepard held his Avenger with alert eyes as he slowly walked through the quiet colony, he and his team have not encountered anything they couldn't handle as of yet. Some security drones with rockets and more LOKI mechs but they proved to be of little trouble to the three trained personnel.

As they neared a large door that lead to the loading docks, the radio sizzled to life.

"_Shepard! Veetor reprogrammed a heavy mech! We're getting pinned down! Get your team ready and I'll open the door!" _Tali called.

"Alright, the mech will no doubt have shields on top of its armor. Jacob, you and I will rush in first and distract it behind cover. Miranda, use your Overload on it. Then we split and flank it. Hopefully, it'll drag some fire off the Quarians. Once the shields are down, hit it with biotics." Shepard ordered.

"Tali, get this door open! We'll draw some of its fire away!" Shepard commanded. "_Got it! The door is opening now!"_ Tali responded. As soon as the door opened, Shepard and Jacob rushed in, running for cover at their end of the battlefield. They started firing their weapons at the mech, though the shields were absorbing most of the damage. The mech ignored the Quarians as it shifted its focus to face the new hostiles.

Shepard fired a grenade from his grenade launcher, staggering the mech. Before it could recover, it was hit with an Overload, courtesy of Miranda.

As the mech tried to turn to Miranda, it was struck in the back with a Warp by Jacob, followed by two grenades that siphoned the last of its shields.

"Hit it with everything you've got!" Shepard ordered and fired his Avenger riffle. Miranda and Jacob were more than happy to oblige as they unloaded their submachine gun and shotgun.

Raising his arm into the air, Jacob lifted the mech into the air and resulted in a powerful biotic explosion when Miranda shot a Warp, disrupting Jacob's biotic energies that were present on the mech.

The mech gave one final mechanical groan as it landed in a heap before exploding violently on impact.

The following silence told Shepard that the clear was finally clear as he stepped out of cover and activated his radio. "The mech's finished. Tali, you good?"

"_Fine Shepard, I'm in a server room tending to the wounded. Two of us got scrapped during our fight. Thank you for helping. Please, find Veetor. I'll join up in a bit."_

"Copy that." Shepard replied before turning to his team. "You two alright?"

Both Miranda and Jacob nodded and Shepard signaled them to follow him as he started his approach towards Veetor's hiding place. On the way, he made sure note to scan the remains of the YMIR mech that he destroyed.

Nearing the door, Shepard could hear some inchorent murmuring from within and switched to his M-3 Predator pistol while Jacob switched to his M-8 Carnifex, Miranda her M-77 Paladin.

Miranda overrode the door's lock and the three of them slowly entered the small, dark room. The room seemed to resemble a control hub for controlling the mechs remotely in the colony. The lights were all switched off save the nine monitors a single Quarian was sitting in front of.

The Quarian, whom Shepard suppose was Veetor continued to mumble continuously, fixated on the console and typing on the console furiously.

"Monsters coming back. Mechs will protect. Safe from swarms. Have to hide. No monsters. No swarms. No-no-no-no-no…"

Holstering his pistol, Shepard slowly approached the terrified Quarian. "Veetor?"

"No Veetor. Not here. Swarms can't find. Monsters coming. Have to hide."

"Nobody's going to hurt you anymore." Shepard assured in a calming tone. Veetor kept typing on the console, unaware of the three humans behind him.

"I don't think he can hear you, Commander." Jacob observed.

Shepard sighed and activated his Omni-tool. Overload wasn't one of his specialties but turning down some monitors proved to be elementary as he waved his Omni-tool at the monitors, shutting them down.

Veetor stopped typing, looking up at the monitors with confusion. When he heard the noise of an Omni-tool behind him, he turned his head around.

Spotting the three humans, he stood up. "You're…human. Where did you hide? How come they didn't find you?"

"Who didn't find us?" Miranda asked, after taking her helmet off.

"The…the monsters. The swarms. They took everyone." Veetor replied in a very slow manner.

"We're not survivors, Veetor. We just arrived." Shepard explained.

"You don't know. You didn't see. But I see everything." Veetor lowered his gaze. Turning back to the console, the Quarian began to type and the monitors lit up, each one showing some footage of the colony.

"Looks like security footage. He must have pieced it together manually." Miranda pointed out. The three watched as what seemed to be large swarms of tiny insects were flying about, moving too fast to be seen clearly at the video's speed and quality. What got their attention were the large bipedal insect looking creatures that were patrolling around the colony, pushing something that resembled a large pod.

"What the hell is that?" Jacob asked, eyes wide. Veetor paused the video as all three humans focused on the creature.

"My God, I think it's a Collector." Miranda answered, evident very much clear in her tone.

Shepard narrowed his brow, he'd heard about the name, somehow…somewhere. "I thought they very much kept to themselves."

"They usually work through the middlemen, such as slavers and mercenaries. If they are involved with the Reapers somehow, it could explain what happened to the colonies." They watched as the video played on, their guts clenching as two Collectors threw a human into a pod.

"The Collectors have advanced technology. They could have a weapon that disables an entire settlement." Jacob observed. Shepard remained silent as he fixed his eyes on one particular figure on the most top right monitor though he was interrupted abruptly as Veetor explained.

"The Seeker Swarms. No one can hide. The seekers find you…freeze you…then the monsters take you away."

"Tell me more about these swarms," Shepard politely asked.

"It's how they find you. Seeker clouds. Machines like tiny insects," Veetor explained. "They go everywhere. They find you. Then they sting you. Freeze you."

"They must be the flying insects we are seeing on the monitors. Interesting, probes maybe? Finding victims from heat detecting and immobolize them via nervous system with stasis fields or toxins perhaps?" Miranda hypothesized. Shepard knew the Alliance probably had little or next to zero information on the Collectors so he turned to his team.

"What do you know about the Collectors?"

Jacob shook his head in response. "Nobody knows much. Sightings are so rare, a lot of people don't even believe they exist."

"More importantly, why are they abducting human colonists? What are they after?" Miranda muttered.

"Maybe the Illusive Man can figure it out." Jacob responded. Shepard had a gut feeling that his 'benevolent' benefactor already knew.

Returning his attention to Veetor, he asked, "Why didn't the Collectors take you?"

"Swarms didn't find me. Monsters didn't know I was here," answered Veetor nervously.

"The Collectors aren't known for being careless." Jacob informed Shepard. "Maybe his enviro-suit kept him from showing up on their sensors."

"Or they were using technology specifically designed to detect humans. Only human colonies have been hit as of far," Miranda replied dryly.

"What happened next?" Shepard nodded at Veetor.

Looking at the monitors, Veetor's voice cracked as he trembled. "The monsters took the people onto the ship, and then they left. The ship flew away. But they'll be back for me. No one escapes!"

"I think that's about all we're getting out of him, Commander," Jacob said softly.

"We appreciate what you told us. You were very helpful. Thank you." Shepard said, trying to calm the hysterica Quarian down.

"I studied them. The monsters. The swarms. I recorded them with my Omni-tool. Lots of readings. Electro-magnetic. Dark energy," Veetor burst out.

"We need to get his data to the Illusive Man," Miranda said. "Grab the Quarian and call the shuttle to come pick us up."

Before Shepard could open his mouth, Tali's voice interrupted and she was quite irate.

"What?! Veetor is injured! He needs treatment, not an interrogation!" She yelled as she stepped into the room.

"We won't hurt him. We just need to see if he knows anything else. He'll be returned unharmed." Jacob tried to placate the angered Quarian.

"If we give him up to you, we'll never get the intel we need." Miranda folded her arms.

Looking at Shepard, Tali pleaded, "You're welcome to Veetor's Omni-tool data, but please, just let me take him."

"You don't have to take Veetor and go. We could work together. Just like old times," Shepard offered softly.

Softening her gaze, Tali looked down. "I want to, but I can't. I got a mission of my own. It's too important for me to abandon…even for you." She sighed.

"That sounds dangerous, what are you doing?"

Casting a glance at Miranda and Jacob, Tali replied cautiously. "I don't believe Cerberus needs to hear about it. But it's in Geth space. That should tell you how important it is."

Shepard nodded with understanding. Turning towards Miranda, he ordered. "Veetor's traumatized and needs medical care. Tali will give us his Omni-tool data and take him back to the flotilla. It'll work better than a testimony."

"Understood, Commander." Miranda showed no emotion as she responded.

"Thank you, Shepard. I'm glad you're still the one giving the orders." Tali said appreciatively and stepping forward, gave Shepard a big hug.

Shepard awkwardly returned the gesture before Tali took a step back. "Good luck out there. If I find anything that can help, I'll let you know."

"Thanks Tali. I hope we can talk soon, stay safe."

"Will do." With that Tali gently took Veetor's hand and led the now silent Quarian out of the room.

Turning to Jacob, Shepard requested, "Jacob, call the shuttle. We'll take a sweep for anything else this colony has hiding and secure an LZ."

"Yes, Commander."

"Miranda, get on this terminal and download everything Veetor recorded. Hopefully, with in addition to his Omni-tool data it will be enough."

Miranda nodded and started towards the terminal. Shepard placed a gloved hand on his face as he took time for everything to digest and set in. He was at a complete loss at what he was suppose to do.

**~0~**

_**Location: Horsehead Nebula, Anadius System, Cronos Station**_

A small flame ignited, dancing in the shadows at the end of a fresh cigarette and illuminating his face for a brief moment before it was put out, leaving only two glowing blue eyes that were visible in the darkness. The Illusive Man exhaled a breath of smoke before addressing the projection of Shepard in front of him.

"Freedom's Progress was a success. The Quarians forwarded their findings from Veetor's debriefing. No new data, but it's a surprising olive branch, given our history." He informed Shepard.

"You ever think about playing nice once in a while?" Shepard asked with distain.

"Diplomacy is great when it works but difficult when everyone already perceives you as a threat," The Illusive Man countered and went back to the point, added, "More importantly, you confirmed the Collectors are behind the abductions."

Shepard felt a sting of annoyance and grinded out, "Why do I get the feeling that you knew about them already."

"I had my suspicions before one of my agents returned from stopping a Collector abduction on another colony shortly after your mission on Freedom's Progress commenced. I was doubtful at best before that. The Collectors are enigmatic at best." The Illusive Man responded nonchalantly.

Shepard was stunned at the news though he tried to not allow the shock to appear on his face, it was difficult to see how one person could stop abduction with such a large numerical disadvantage.

"It's hard to believe one single person can stop an abduction on that scale." He stated, prompting the Illusive Man to smirk briefly, as if he had just made an ironic joke.

"You'd be surprised...back to the issue, the Collectors periodically travel to the Terminus Systems, looking to gather seemingly unimportant items or specimens. Usually in exchange for their technology." The Illusive Man pausing to take another smoke and exhaled. "When their transactions are complete, they disappear as quickly as they arrived; back beyond the unmapped Omega 4 relay. Until a couple of hours ago, we've had no evidence of direct aggression by the Collectors."

"What are the Collectors getting from these deals?"

Tapping his cigarette into his ashtray, the Illusive Man replied. "The Collectors aren't very forthcoming about their motives. Generally, they seek out species with rare genetic mutations or abnormalities. They pay slavers and merc groups exorbitant sums to obtain these specimens. And then they leave. But they've never targeted a single species before."

"Any ideas why they've shifted their focus to humans?"

"If they're agents for the Reapers, it could be any number of reasons. Obviously, humanity played a huge role in Sovereign's destruction. That might have been enough to draw their attention," The Illusive Man hypothesized. "What really concerns me is why they bother abducting the colonists. They seem to go out of their way with paralyzing them, not killing them."

"Do you know anything about the Omega 4 Relay?" Shepard asked.

"Unfortunately, there is little to no intel regarding to it. But it remains a fact that no ship has ever returned after passing through it. Our guess is that the relay reacts differently to Collector vessels, allowing them safe passage. If this theory is true, that further solidifies their connection with the Reapers."

"You're holding something back. How do you know the Reapers are involved?" Shepard crossed his arms, though everything fit together, he had little reason of trusting the figure sitting in front of him.

"The patterns are there, buried within the data," was his reply.

Taking another drag of his cigarette, the Illusive Man continued, "The Council and the Alliance want to believe the Reaper threat died with Sovereign. Naïve…You and I know better. I won't wait around until the Reapers arrive to take action. We need to take the fight to them."

Shepard was on a similar mind track but his strategy involved the Alliance. Digesting the words of the Illusive Man, it was clear that he was willing to end the threat at all costs. As much as Shepard hated to admit it, the mysterious figure in front of him was correct, the Alliance would favor politics first before any real help would even be contemplated.

Knowing he had no option he relented, "If this is a war, I'll need an army. Or a really good team." Shepard stated.

A holographic console appeared next to the Illusive Man's hand. "I've already compiled a list of soldiers, scientists and mercenaries. You'll get dossiers on the best of them."

Tapping several keys, he went on. "Finding them and convincing them to work with you could be challenging, but you're a natural leader. I'll continue to track the Collectors. When they make their next appearance, I'll notify you and your team. Be ready."

Shepard had a few reservations, noting that his 'benefactor' had this planned out too quickly. "I don't suppose you know what happened to my old team?"

"Most of them have moved on…or their allegiances have changed," came the dry reply.

Shepard stood his ground, eyes narrowed.

Obviously anticipating this, the Illusive Man started listing all of Shepard's former squad members from the top of his head.

"Chief Williams is still with the Alliance. Promoted, I believe…Her file is surprisingly well-classified for one with her family history." Shepard stoically allowed the news to sink in, from his tone, he deduced that the Illusive Man must have known about Ash's grandfather either personally or intel on the Alliance. He had no idea what to do if he were to meet her again.

"She's going to blow up, that's for sure." He thought to himself and focused on the Illusive Man again.

"The Turian disappeared a few months after you were declared dead. Even we haven't been able to locate him." At this, Shepard couldn't help but wonder what Garrus was up to. "Did he go for Spectre training or went back to C-Sec?"

"The Krogan returned to Tuchanka and hasn't been off-world in a year. He's trying to unite the Krogan clans." Shepard was surprised at his friend's change of heart, Wrex had tried before but was almost killed by his own father Jarrod. The Krogan merc left his homeworld believing that there was nothing left.

"Dr. T'Soni is on Bekenstein. Working as an information broker for the Alliance." Shepard was startled and relieved at the same time, and it immediately brought feelings of dread and nervousness to his gut. How could he possibly explain this to her and his family after two years.

"Jason Shepard is listed MIA by the Alliance, though there has been rumors that he handed in a notice of resignation shortly after your demise. The Alliance is searching for him but as far, there has been absolutely no information pertaining to him…as if he had vanished from the face of the galaxy."

Shepard was stunned and he longer cared about hiding his emotion, as he felt nothing but pure shock and worry. His brother went missing. The thought was like a stab to the gut.

"No, that can't be, he wouldn't…" He muttered out loud, weakly trying deny it. His brother was Alliance, he wouldn't just resign for no apparent reason. He had to find him.

The Illusive Man said nothing as he observed the projection standing before him with a blank expression as he took another drag of his cigarette.

Saving his worrying till after the discussion, Shepard prompted, "What about Tali? She already helped us on Freedom's Progress."

"That was unexpected. I'll need more intel before I'll commit to that." Came the reply.

"I'm the one leading this mission. Do I need your permission now?" He said in a low tone.

Indifferent to his attitude, the Illusive Man remarked, "According to Miranda's report, your friend is unavailable for now. I am merely curious as to whether her assignment will jeopardize the mission…however, if she's willing to travel with you, then that's your choice."

Taking a sip from his glass, the Illusive Man tapped some more keys at his console. "You're a leader Shepard. You'll get who you need." He exhaled a breath of smoke.

"I'm still a Spectre. Maybe I can get the Council to help me out," Shepard noted.

"If you can convince them, by all means," The Illusive Man replied with what seemed to be a lace of sarcasm in his tone.

"Just remember," The figure before Shepard warned, "You've been gone for a long time. Things have changed."

Shepard nodded, "You worry about the Collectors, I'll make sure my team's ready."

"Good," The Illusive Man tapped his cigarette on his ashtray, "Two things before you go…first head to Omega and find Mordin Solus. He's a brilliant Salarian scientist," The Illusive Man advised. "Our intelligence suggests he may know how to counteract the Collector's paralyzing seeker swarms."

"You're **suggesting **that I work with non-humans?" Shepard remarked, "That must sting."

The Illusive Man didn't rise to his subtle taunt.

"Feel free to ignore my advice and leave you and your team vulnerable against the Collectors…Sarcasm is unbefitting of you, Shepard." The Illusive Man admonished him as a parent would to a petulant child.

Swallowing a retort, Shepard grounded out. "What else?"

"I found a pilot I think you might like," The Illusive Man smiled, "I hear he's one of the best. Someone you can trust." With that said, the Illusive Man terminated the connection.

Despite Shepard's idealistic and disobedient attitude, the Illusive Man smirked coldly.

Shepard unlike his sibling wore his thoughts on his sleeves, admirable but naïve, making it all too easy to predict him. And from the advice he received from the best source available, this game was destined to be his to win.

Whereas other species will fall to the Reapers, humanity will triumph. A holographic panel appeared next to his right hand and he tapped a key.

The holographic projection emerged, depicting a tall man in his late fifties, dressed in a uniform and cap, the design was similar to what an Alliance Admiral would wear except the color was black and not blue. He had a weathered face, one that had endured the hardships of battle, short silver white hair and a black eye patch that covered his left eye, leaving one grayish blue eye that focused solely on the Illusive Man.

"Sam…it's been a while." The Illusive Man greeted evenly as he stood to face his guest.

"It has…Jack."

**~0~**

_**Location: Horsehead Nebula, Unknown System, Minutemen Station**_

Shepard stood on the projector disk with a hand on his face, as he suddenly felt overwhelmed by fatigue. Angrily, he punched the wall with a fist. The distressing news of his brother's disappearance was only now fully sinking in.

He couldn't bear to face his mother now, since his sister…since Jenny left along with his father, Shepard knew his mother never really recovered from that shock despite her strong outward mask.

After the incident on Mindoir and the severity of the trauma Jason had, Hannah rarely allowed him out of her sight. She had never admitted it but Jason was her favorite child, which John understood as he was more sensitive and he needed it. Jason was his little brother and his best friend.

Losing him would undoubtedly break what's left of their mother. The edges of Shepard's eyes moistened a bit. Where did everything go wrong? Why his family?

Hearing footsteps behind him, Shepard steeled himself and turned around. Immediately his eyes widened.

"Hey Commander. Just like old times, huh?" Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau, "Joker" grinned nervously.

Despite the heavy feeling, Shepard managed a smile. "Joker."

"The one and only." Joker retorted jovially.

**~0~**

Walking alongside Joker through the maze like facility, Shepard couldn't keep the surprise in his voice. "I still can't believe it's you Joker."

"Look who's talking. I saw you get spaced."

"Got lucky, with a lot of strings attached," Shepard responded.

"How'd you get here?" Walking up a flight of stairs, Joker began in a somber tone, "It all fell apart without you, Commander. Everything you stirred up, the Council just wanted it gone." Shepard remained silent as Joker continued, "Team was broken up, records sealed and I was grounded."

"The Alliance took the only thing that mattered to me. Hell yeah I joined Cerberus." He bitterly spat.

You really trust the Illusive Man?" Shepard asked after remaining silent for a while.

Joker stopped to look through a window. Shepard copied the motion but saw nothing but a dark room.

"I don't trust anyone that makes more than I do," Joker shrugged.

"But they aren't all bad. Saved your life. Let me fly - and there's this," He concluded with a nod and crossed his arms. "They only told me last night."

Shepard watched with curiosity as the lights came on, one by one.

His smile grew a bit wider as all the lights were turned on, revealing his new ship, looking just as great and twice the size as the original.

"Good to be home huh, Commander?"

"Guess we'll have to give her a name." Shepard responded in a mixed tone as he noted the SR-2, knowing the perfect name for her. Joker nodded enthusiastically, like a child in a candy store.

"She'll be ready by tomorrow. We'll leave on your orders."

**~0~**

"Heard you were on Freedom's Progress, found anything?" Miranda wore a smile that revealed nothing as she gazed at her personal data tablet on her bed in a room. A man with sharp blue eyes and chin length dark hair filled the screen of her device.

"I will if you tell me every assignment you've completed in the last two years." She replied dryly.

"Such fairness," Jason Shepard remarked sarcastically, "You know I can't tell you Miranda."

Over the last two years, the two have struck what seemed to be an unlikely friendship. Miranda rarely found someone who she could have intellectual debates with or discuss classical music with, her childhood was a lonely and oppressing one under a madman of a 'father,' who cared nothing for her and was only obsessed about securing his dynasty. The thought alone disgusted her. Having someone she could trust and talk to was strangely comforting.

Although not always present, whenever Jason replied her mails or spoke to her via extranet, she would feel better. Having a friend, someone to trust felt right. When the Illusive Man ordered her to recruit Jason Shepard, she was sure that he was just another typical Alliance personality until she read his dossier and his history.

She would never dare utter it to his face that she admired him in some way. Despite everything that has happened to him, he was still able to carve out his own path and defeat his demons.

"I could always inadvertently leak your details on the extranet…" Miranda said in a teasing tone.

The result as a raised eyebrow, "I thought you were above blackmail, Miranda. It would seem that I was sorely mistaken about you." Jason drawled and turned to sever the connection but stopped as Miranda smirked.

But the optimistic atmosphere sank a bit when Miranda popped the next question. "You knew about the Collectors didn't you…don't lie."

Staring straight into her icy blue eyes without moving his gaze away, the former Alliance operative slowly nodded. "I did, however I was only informed of such several hours earlier."

"This mission…it's bigger than I had thought. It would seem Project Lazarus was only the easy part…How do you deal with all this?" Miranda confessed quietly.

Jason remained silent for a while before he spoke, "I think about what's at stake, all those people that are helpless against what's to come."

"I wish it could be that simple. We can't afford any mistakes." Miranda sighed.

Blinking his eyes, Jason responded, "It's alright to slip and fall once in a while, Miranda…we as a species are flawed, no matter our genetics…It's how we react to those mistakes that makes us better."

"And to think, you were once against the idea of working with us…now you're trying to comfort a known Cerberus operative." Miranda retorted, though there were absolutely no records of the missions he had undertook during the last two years. She knew better, the Illusive Man was very much satisfied to have finally recruited Jason Shepard. He wouldn't have been assigned to doing menial tasks.

Miranda knew something happened to him. The signs were subtle, barely visible but they were there and she would find out what.

**~0~**

_**Location: Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium**_

On the balcony of a spacious and what seemed to be a luxurious apartment, surveying the sunset and the busy streets below, a man in his mid-late twenties clad in a silver shirt and black trousers gave the slightest hint of a smile that vanished as soon as it appeared.

He focused his attention to the data tablet in his hand and started slowly, "Sometimes, you have to put your personal feelings aside for the greater good...if that means embracing a lesser evil, so be it…"Here his eyes looked away from the screen and stared at the seemingly ordinary and routine traffic below him. It was a deception, an illusion of the horrors to come.

"A storm's coming…" He finished in a rather distant tone.

There was a long stretch of silence before a electronic beeping noise began emanating from the interior of his apartment.

"The boss most likely, I should go." He said softly.

"I wouldn't keep him waiting…Miranda replied slowly.

He was about to terminate the conversation when Miranda's voice stopped him, her tone filled with unease. "Wait…stay safe..."

He froze for a split second, then he relaxed and offered her a nod and terminated the video chat.

Walking pass the sofas, he placed his data pad on the rectangular crystal coffee table before receiving his call on his private Quantum Entanglement Communicator in his study room. The shadows enveloping him as he retreated away from the light.

**~0~**

_**Location: Horsehead Nebula, Unknown System, Minutemen Station**_

After spending a restless night on the station, Shepard was up early and was soon following Miranda and Jacob towards the airlock that led to the Normandy SR-2. He looked down and glanced at his uniform, it felt alien to be wearing a uniform that was similar to the Alliances' in design but furnished in Cerberus colors.

He had been faithful to the Systems Alliance for more than ten years, despite the politics that came with it. Dispelling those thoughts away, Shepard knew what was at stake. As soon as he was able to, he researched all the events that happened in the last two years.

He hated to admit it but the Illusive Man wasn't lying. Colonists were disappearing and nothing was reported regarding to it. It was the belief that the Alliance and the Citadel were satisfied to distant itself from the affairs in the Terminus Systems, leaving many helpless.

Cerberus, so it would seem, was their sole ray of hope. After the three of them took an elevator down to the airlock, Miranda merely turned around and gestured at Shepard. Shepard nodded and entered the new Normandy for the first time.

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